Canada's curling fans are great — until you lose

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‘The pressure from fans is an amazing thing, except when things go south,’ says Canadian great Colleen Jones

Devin Heroux

?·?CBC Sports?·?Posted: Mar 20, 2019 4:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: March 21, 2019

阿爾伯塔省跳繩運(yùn)動(dòng)員Chelsea Carey在女子冰壺世錦賽上以4勝4負(fù)的戰(zhàn)績(jī)獲得了球迷的強(qiáng)烈反響。(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press) 長(zhǎng)大后在國(guó)際賽事中披上楓葉，是每個(gè)加拿大冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員的夢(mèng)想。畢竟，這通常意味著登上領(lǐng)獎(jiǎng)臺(tái)。 對(duì)加拿大冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員的期望是巨大的，有時(shí)幾乎令人窒息。只要問(wèn)問(wèn)這個(gè)國(guó)家任何曾經(jīng)從鵝卵石的冰面上上升到花崗巖明星的冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員就知道了。 加拿大的冰壺球迷是熱情的。他們會(huì)支持他們的球隊(duì)，直到最后一塊石頭被拋出。多年來(lái)，他們也被寵壞了。加拿大在歷史上一直主導(dǎo)著這場(chǎng)咆哮的比賽。像冰球一樣，當(dāng)涉及到加拿大冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員在國(guó)際賽事中的心態(tài)是金牌或失敗。 但隨著這兩項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的發(fā)展，國(guó)際競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的水平也在不斷提高。 那么，當(dāng)不按計(jì)劃進(jìn)行時(shí)會(huì)發(fā)生什么呢？在丹麥舉行的女子世錦賽上，跳遠(yuǎn)運(yùn)動(dòng)員切爾西-凱里正在為進(jìn)入季后賽而努力，而在去年的平昌奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，男女運(yùn)動(dòng)員都沒(méi)有贏得獎(jiǎng)牌。(加拿大的混合雙打隊(duì)，在該項(xiàng)目首次出現(xiàn)在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，確實(shí)贏得了金牌）。 "楓葉的壓力和來(lái)自球迷的壓力是一件了不起的事情，除了當(dāng)事情發(fā)生變化時(shí)，"六屆蘇格蘭杯冠軍科琳-瓊斯說(shuō)。"然后，重量是如此之大，它響徹你的耳朵，你感覺(jué)它遍布你的身體。這都是[代表加拿大]的特權(quán)，但有時(shí)也很難。" 即使是偉大的科琳-瓊斯在沒(méi)有獲勝時(shí)也受到了嚴(yán)厲的批評(píng)。(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) 瓊斯說(shuō)，作為有史以來(lái)最優(yōu)秀的冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員之一，她不得不在職業(yè)生涯的早期了解到對(duì)冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員的高度期望。 瓊斯說(shuō)："我輸?shù)舻牡谝粋€(gè)慘痛教訓(xùn)是1982年在日內(nèi)瓦舉行的世界比賽，"。 瓊斯剛剛在22歲時(shí)與她的姐妹們一起贏得了她的第一個(gè)蘇格蘭杯（仍然是有史以來(lái)最年輕的）。當(dāng)她出發(fā)去參加世界錦標(biāo)賽時(shí)，似乎她所有的冰壺夢(mèng)想都要實(shí)現(xiàn)了。 然后他們就沒(méi)有了。那一年沒(méi)有。 冰面情況很糟糕。場(chǎng)館里到處都是窗戶，明亮的陽(yáng)光照射進(jìn)來(lái)，將冰層融化了一些地方。冰面是傾斜的。這與瓊斯的任何冰壺不同。她沒(méi)能獲得季后賽資格，在決勝局中輸給了挪威隊(duì)。 "瓊斯說(shuō)："這很令人沮喪，因?yàn)槲姨贻p了，不知道我還不知道什么，沒(méi)有充分認(rèn)識(shí)到這個(gè)游戲有辦法打敗你，讓你保持謙遜。 切爾西-凱里在第九局打出三分，加拿大隊(duì)（4-4）在丹麥絲綢堡舉行的世界女子冰壺錦標(biāo)賽上以8-7擊敗中國(guó)隊(duì)。 瓊斯隨后在17年后參加了世界冠軍的爭(zhēng)奪。在加拿大，也不例外。但瓊斯以4-5的成績(jī)錯(cuò)過(guò)了季后賽，這是加拿大最后一次在女子冰壺世錦賽上未能進(jìn)入季后賽。 "瓊斯說(shuō)："背著楓葉的艱巨性使我陷入了思想和情緒的漩渦，在消極和恐懼的圈子里不停地打轉(zhuǎn)。 然后就有了仇恨郵件。那時(shí)候還沒(méi)有社交媒體，粉絲們只需點(diǎn)擊幾下就能迅速噴出他們的毒舌。瓊斯收到了來(lái)自加拿大各地的手寫(xiě)信件，寄到她的家里和冰壺俱樂(lè)部。 "她說(shuō)："他們說(shuō)我是加拿大的恥辱，不應(yīng)該再玩冰壺。"這是非常個(gè)人化的，因?yàn)樗麄兓〞r(shí)間來(lái)寄這些信。甚至花錢買了郵票。但他們總是匿名的"。 對(duì)切爾西-凱里的同情 瓊斯說(shuō)，壓力、恐懼和消極情緒是切爾西-凱里必須與之抗?fàn)幍臇|西。加拿大隊(duì)在今年的世界錦標(biāo)賽上的跳板，在八場(chǎng)比賽后以4-4的成績(jī)排名。周二在丹麥的比賽中出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)低潮，凱里的團(tuán)隊(duì)放棄了10個(gè)不連貫的分?jǐn)?shù)，以13-6輸給了美國(guó)隊(duì)。 不滿的球迷在那場(chǎng)比賽后在社交媒體上發(fā)言。 "這很傷人。我們?cè)诒鶋剡\(yùn)動(dòng)中最艱難的日子之一。我們對(duì)我們的結(jié)果和我們的球迷一樣感到難過(guò)，"推特上的帖子從球隊(duì)的賬戶上讀到。 球迷們也在社交媒體上發(fā)表了言論。一場(chǎng)負(fù)面情緒的風(fēng)暴在推特上熊熊燃燒--表達(dá)了多年前針對(duì)瓊斯的類似情緒--說(shuō)該隊(duì)是加拿大的恥辱，不應(yīng)該出現(xiàn)在那里。 瓊斯清楚地知道球隊(duì)現(xiàn)在的感受。 "看著切爾西和那幫人，我的胃變成了疙瘩，我的右肩疼得厲害，骨子里還有一種傷痛。瓊斯說(shuō)："就像發(fā)生在切爾西身上的事情是我的損失的重演。"我穿著她的鞋子走了一百英里，也許更多。" 瓊斯最終將為加拿大贏得一個(gè)世界冰壺錦標(biāo)賽--她將以兩個(gè)冠軍結(jié)束她的職業(yè)生涯。她認(rèn)為這將是她生命中一個(gè)了不起的時(shí)刻。 "他們并不像我想象的那樣喜悅，只是簡(jiǎn)單地對(duì)我們沒(méi)有輸?shù)舯荣惗笏梢豢跉?。這有多奇怪呢？"她問(wèn)道。 卡梅倫說(shuō)，在某些時(shí)候，人們的期望必須與這個(gè)時(shí)代競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)的現(xiàn)實(shí)相協(xié)調(diào)--更不用說(shuō)一些大局觀的思考。 "加拿大已經(jīng)以不敗的記錄贏得了過(guò)去兩屆世界女子錦標(biāo)賽。期望我們派去參加世界錦標(biāo)賽的每一支隊(duì)伍都能做到這一點(diǎn)，這公平嗎？當(dāng)然不是。" 至于那些在失望時(shí)選擇匿名抨擊加拿大冰壺運(yùn)動(dòng)員的人，卡梅倫對(duì)他們沒(méi)有太多的時(shí)間。 "我不認(rèn)為這些人中的大多數(shù)會(huì)在公開(kāi)場(chǎng)合說(shuō)這種話，甚至對(duì)他們的親密朋友說(shuō)。但不知何故，他們認(rèn)為當(dāng)沒(méi)有人知道他們是誰(shuí)時(shí)，這樣做是可以的，"他說(shuō)。 "當(dāng)我看到人們對(duì)我們的運(yùn)動(dòng)員表現(xiàn)出這種缺乏同情心和尊重的態(tài)度時(shí)，這很難。然后再加上我真的喜歡我們的運(yùn)動(dòng)員和教練員。這些都是我完全尊重和欽佩的朋友，看到他們受到這樣的對(duì)待，我的內(nèi)心很受打擊。 ———————————————————— Alberta skip Chelsea Carey has gotten quite the backlash from fans as her rink sits with a 4-4 record at the women’s world curling championships.?(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press) It's every Canadian curler's dream to grow?up and put on the Maple Leaf at an international event. After all, it usually means a podium finish. The expectations placed upon Canada's curlers are immense, nearly suffocating at times. Just ask any curler who's ever risen from the pebbled ice to granite stardom in this country. Canada's curling fans are passionate. They'll support their teams until the last rock is thrown. They've been spoiled over the years, too. Canada has historically?dominated the roaring game. Like hockey, the mindset when it comes to Canadian curlers at an international event is gold or bust. But as both sports have grown, so has the level of international competition. So what happens when it doesn't go according to plan? Skip Chelsea Carey is struggling to make the playoffs at the women's world championships in Denmark, and neither the men nor women won a medal at last year's Olympics in Pyeongchang. (Canada's mixed doubles team, in the event's first appearance at an Olympics,?did win gold.) "The pressure of the Maple Leaf and from fans is an amazing thing, except when things go south," says six-time Scotties winner Colleen Jones. "Then the weight is so big it rings through your ears and you feel it all over your body. It was all a privilege [to represent Canada], but sometimes hard."

Even the great Colleen Jones received harsh criticism when she didn’t win.?(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) One of the best-ever to play the game, Jones says she had to learn the hard way early in her career of the high expectations placed on curlers. "My first harsh lesson of losing was the worlds in Geneva in 1982," Jones said.. Jones had just won her first Scotties alongside her sisters at age 22 (still the youngest ever to do so). As she departed for the world championships it seemed all her curling dreams were?coming true. And then they didn't. Not that year. The ice conditions were atrocious. The arena was filled with windows and a bright sun beamed?in, melting the ice in spots. The surface was sloped. It was unlike anything Jones had curled on. She failed to qualify for the playoffs, losing a tiebreaker to Norway. "It was crushing because I was so young and didn't know what I didn't know yet and didn't fully appreciate that the game has a way of beating you and keeping you humble," Jones says.

Chelsea Carey scored a triple in the ninth end, as Canada (4-4) beat China 8-7 at the world women's curling championship in Silkeborg, Denmark.

Jones then competed for a world title 17 years later. In Canada, no less. But Jones missed the playoffs with a 4-5 record, the last time Canada has failed to reach the playoffs at the women's world curling championships. "The enormity of having the Maple Leaf on my back made me spiral into a swirling mess of thoughts and emotions that just kept going around in a circle of negativity and fear," Jones says. And then came the hate mail. This was before social media, when fans can quickly spew their venom in a few clicks. Jones received hand-written letters from across Canada, to her home and the curling club. "They said I was an embarrassment to Canada and should never curl again," she says. "It was so personal because they were taking the time to send these letters. Even paid for a stamp. But they were always anonymous." Compassion for Chelsea Carey

The pressure, fear and negativity are something Chelsea Carey must be battling, says Jones. Team Canada's skip at this year's world championship is sitting with a 4-4 record after eight games. A low point came Tuesday in Denmark when Carey's team gave up 10 unanswered points to lose to the Americans 13-6. Disgruntled fans?took to social media after that game. "It hurts. One of our toughest days in curling. We feel as bad about our result as our fans," the post on Twitter read from the team's account. Fans also took to social media. A firestorm of negativity blazed across Twitter — expressing similar sentiments?aimed at Jones all those years ago —?saying the team was an embarrassment to Canada and shouldn't be there. Jones knows exactly what the team is feeling right now. "Watching Chelsea and the gang turns my stomach into knots and my right shoulder aches with a hurt that is still in my bones. It's like what is happening to Chelsea are my losses all over again," Jones says. "I've walked a hundred miles in her shoes, maybe more." Jones would finally win a world curling championship for Canada — she would finish her career with two.?She thought it would be an awesome moment in her life. "They weren't as joyous as I thought, just simply a big relief that we didn't lose. How strange is that?" she asks. Olympic disappointment

Brent Laing also knows what Carey is experiencing . He was at the Olympics last year on Kevin Koe's team, which failed to reach the for Canada. It marked the first time both Canadian men's and women's curling teams had?failed to win a medal at the Games in curling. Prior to that experience, Laing had won only gold at international events — in all three world championships he played. "I wish we could play the Olympics over again. It sucks when you don't perform for Canada," Laing says. "Last year was a totally different experience and it sucked." Both Koe's team and Rachel Homan's?women's rink were on the receiving end of Canadian curling fans' wrath throughout the Olympics. Laing did his best to ignore it all. "What someone on Twitter says about me who I will probably never meet doesn't mean that much to me," he says. Jennifer Jones, Laing's wife, is also a six-time Scotties champion. She's won the world curling championship twice, including going undefeated last year. "There's obviously a lot of pressure, but all that pressure makes playing for Canada so special because there's so much pride," Jones says. Jones has been watching closely as Carey competes in Denmark. Jones' longtime second, Jill Officer, who retired from curling last season, is the alternate on Carey's team. "My heart breaks for them right now. They're trying their best. We always are. It's a dream come true to get there and you want to fulfil it in the most amazing way. But it's sport," Jones says. Criticism taken to a different level in curling

Al Cameron, a longtime sports journalist and Curling Canada's director of media relations,?says what he's reading on social media right now regarding Canada's performance at this year's world championship isn't unique to curling, but he's shocked at the level of negativity. "I do believe curling fans take it to another level compared to other sports in Canada — again, a byproduct of Canada's status as a curling nation," Cameron says. Cameron is in Denmark with Carey's team. He's in those post-game scrums after their victories and defeats. He also sees them out of the bright lights of the interview circle. "The expectations — they're all very aware of them, and they also know that in this day and age, if they don't achieve those expectations, the conversation is certainly taking place around them and about them," he says.