There has been a social media explosion to the firing of
Darren Moulding from the reigning Brier champs, Team Bottcher. It has been a
somewhat entertaining shit show, complete with a glossed-over and misleading press
release, interviews a-plenty and lots of bad blood and hurt feelings.
Bottcher said it best when he mentioned that breaking up is
hard to do. This is especially true when you dump a guy weeks before Christmas,
and a couple of months away from what would have been a home-town Brier for
Moulding, who will now likely be in the stands booing Team Canada in Lethbridge
instead of playing.
Curling fans are angry at this one, I think mainly because this
seems so off-brand for this team. Team Bottcher always came across as genuine,
decent guys – a bit removed from the business-first approach of some of the
other competitive teams. I guess a lot of that was Moulding, who always came across
as genuine and true, and was never afraid to let his passion and feelings show.
He was very much the face of the team, and gave them the reputation as
hard-working, average guys. They have a cute train-themed social media thing happening
for them, and they actually seemed to like each other.
But Bottcher’s dismissal could not be more opposed to this “nice guy” reputation the team had built. No matter how you look at it, right or wrong, this was cold. This was BUSINESS. This was a round of corporate layoffs before the Holidays. For most fans, it seems aggregious.
But I can relate to the feeling that the team was broken,
and I understand that feeling that whatever is wrong needs to be fixed right away.
I say this as a guy who has broken up teams mid-season on a couple of
occasions. I tell you, when it feels wrong on the ice, you need to act right
away to fix it. Some people can curl well angry or with tension, I am not one of those people. When there is tension on the ice, it needs to get fixed one way or the other. One
of the key ingredients for any high-performance team is trust, and the interviews
suggest that it was absent here.
A quick story…In 2018, 6 weeks before the Provincials which
we ended up winning to go to the Brier, our team was in that place; we were
broken and tension was high. We needed a heart-to-heart chat to address
tensions that we were having on the ice. We were brutally honest with each
other, and it ended up making us stronger as a team. But before that chat, we
were broken. After the chat we were still the same 4 guys, but with the tension
gone we could focus on curling.
And it appears that Team Bottcher went through something
similar. Seeing them at the trials, you knew something was wrong. There were things left unsaid. Something had to give.
The big question now is who they will find to replace Darren.
We are weeks away from many provinces starting playdowns to get to the Brier,
so Bottcher needs to find someone who is willing to leave their current team
mid-season. While the allure of being on Team Canada is a big draw, it is a
dick move to leave your team in December.
I would offer my services to Team Bottcher as a recently-retired
back end player but alas….
It turns out that news
of retirement was a bit premature.
A bit of news from me and Team Fournier. I mentioned last
blog that I would be stepping back from the game after the pre-trials, as I
prepare for a move to Toronto for work with a new job. It turns out the curling
gods in a fit of whimsey have given me a bit more time.
After we lost our last game of the pre-trials in a
heart-breaker to Tanner Horgan, I thought I was done. I was a bit emotional
after the game, (especially after Scott Chadwick hugged me and said it was an
honour to play against me for my last game, sniff sniff), and was prepared to
slip into the warm embrace of 6 or 7 rye and cokes. But then my teammates
informed me that my replacement, Steven Munroe, had freakishly torn his hand
ligaments bowling (yes, bowling) and would be unavailable for the season. That
means that I am back – at least for one more run for the Brier. The provincials
will be held January 5-12 in Alma, Quebec.
WTF Charlevoix?
Charlevoix had always been my “bête noire” of curling bonspiels.
While I always seem to have a great time there off-ice, my on-ice record at
Quebec’s biggest bonspiel has been pretty awful. From the time I gave up a
steal of 3 to Martin Ferland in the Circuit finals 20 or so years ago,
Charlevoix always ended in heartbreak. Some would even say I was cursed.
But wait - apparently the news of my impending retirement
has lifted the curse! We played great all weekend, and Team Fournier managed to
squeak out a win in the finals against Paul Flemming from Nova Scotia to claim the
title. It helped that we sacrificed a Brownie, a virgin, a live chicken and an
autographed Guy Hemmings picture prior to the playoff round to appease the Curling
Gods. (apologies to the locker room cleaning staff!). But we did it! The curse if lifted!
So thank you, Charlevoix! I will definitely return in the
future and will speak highly of you to my new Ontarian friends. And hopefully
next year the band and party will be back as well; it just wasn’t the same
without the cover band belting out ACDC’s “She was a Fax Machine…”
