In the realm of unusual activities that have made their way into the Olympics, curling holds a special place. The game involves a bulky granite rock that can tip the scales at almost 20kg, complete with an eye-catching handle. The role of the skip, or team leader, is to skillfully slide on one knee, propelling the rock down the icy track. This leader also provides fervent commands like “hurry” and “whoa” to their fellow players, known as the sweepers. The sweepers follow closely, frantically brushing the ice before the sliding stone, reminiscent of hyperactive Cinderellas sweeping continuously.
John Cullen is well-versed in the world of curling, having played the sport himself for many years and earning seven provincial medals – however, he firmly asserts, none of them were gold. His recent podcast, titled “Broomgate”, a part of the CBC stable, provides insight into how this beloved sport nearly met its downfall due to the unexpected introduction of a rogue broom.
“Broomgate” commences with the 2015 Tour Challenge in the Canadian location of Paradise, where Brad Gushue set foot on the ice. The prowess and status of Gushue in the realm of curling is repeatedly highlighted, seeing him labeled as the LeBron James of the sport by Cullen. Gushue and his team became game-changers, introducing a novel, fancy broom which disrupted the previously amicable environment of curling.
“Cullen notes the anomaly in Gushue’s approach:” he is utilizing just one sweeper,” says Cullen. “Generally, curling teams deploy two sweepers. But during this game, there was only one, which raised many questions.” The revelation soon emerged – Brad Gushue’s team had procured the Hardline broom, a broom variant with a unique design unseen in the sport until that point.
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It was a game-changing shift in the curling world, ignited by the creation of an innovative type of broom-head by an unknown inventor. This special broom-head, capable of directing the stone in a novel manner, stirred up the arena, breeding animosity and competition within a sport previously characterized by a tight-knit community of friendly stone-pushers. Cullen is best placed to narrate this tale; not only does he possess the required knowledge and articulated narration of a good host, but also managed to engage all those involved in the split caused by the broom.
In the six episodes of “Broomgate”, Cullen shares his interactions with broom producers, world champions, players and fans of the game, supplementing these dialogues with historical audio clips from the game. He skillfully spreads his zeal for the sport and its associated scandals. The introduction of BalancePlus, a competitive rival for the Hardline broom, ignited sparks, invoked animosities and solidified rivalries.
Cullen was a pioneer in using the Hardline broom and even persuaded his more popular friend to follow suit. This friend then defeated Gushue using the same broom, which showed the outstanding difference of this equipment to the world. An equivalent of an arms race ensued in the world of broom-heads, replacing the previous camaraderie in the community with suspicion. According to Cullen, he was the instigator of “Broomgate.”
Despite being four episodes into the story, my conclusions don’t point to Cullen as the culprit behind the hullabaloo. On the contrary, I find reason to applaud him for captivatingly recounting the tale of a low-profiled sport in such an energetic manner that I found myself engrossed in an array of YouTube videos of men shouting “Hurry” and adamantly sweeping ice as stones collide like enormous snooker balls. The vigorous sweeping indeed lies at the core of this spectacle. What an extraordinary, yet odd, sport, and what an intriguing narrative!