Thursday, February 21, 2002
Dismay for Law
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
OGDEN, Utah -- Maybe they had a good team cry after they'd left the arena and returned to their rooms. But when it was over yesterday, Kelley Law and her rink were in a dry-eyed state of shock.
Their gold was gone. They'd lost to Great Britain. And good gawd, Great Britain hasn't won a gold at anything in the Olympic Winter Games since Torvill and Dean in figure skating in Sarajavo '84.
The Brits are going for gold and suddenly Canada - Canada - is in danger of going home from here without a medal.
"Canada is a great nation," said Rhona Martin, a housewife and mother of two from Ayrshire, Scotland, who skipped the upset of upsets.
"To beat Canada any time is great. But to beat Canada in the semifinal of the Olympics ..."
Both rinks left here wondering how this was going to play back home.
Sandra Schmirler won gold for Canada at the first official full-medal Olympic curling competition four years ago and came home a celebrity. Mike Harris ended up with a silver and came home to a lot of spit and abuse.
And what if they lose to the U.S. today? What if they don't even manage to manufacture a bronze?
"We came from Canada to get the gold medal," said third Julie Skinner. "When you don't get the gold ...
"We're disappointed. I'm sure a lot of people are as disappointed as we are."
Kelley Law had to feel a lot like Tommy Salo here yesterday. The Edmonton Oiler goaltender had been the best in the Olympic tournament before he gassed his Olympic in a game with Belarus. Law had won eight straight before she gagged on her game. And Law lost this one in much the same manner, although she didn't have a curling rock bounce into the house off of her head. It just felt that way when she was shooting for two in the fourth end and ended up not only missing her shot but knocking a Brit rock into position for Rhonda Martin and her rink to score two.
DEFINITELY UNKNOWNS
Martin?
"Any sports fan in, say, London ever heard of you guys before you came here?" I asked her after a last-rock draw to beat the Canadians 6-5.
"I doubt it," she laughed.
The skip who curls with Debbie Knox, a mother of twins from Edinburgh, and two young ladies from Inverness, won the game on prime-time early evening TV on BBC. You can imagine the scenes in the British pubs with everybody around the TVs watching curling.
Great Britain won one medal in Nagano, a bronze in the four-man bobsled. But they're playing Switzerland for the gold now. They have a chance to be Torvill and Dean.
"We didn't want to know what's in the papers back home all week," said the Brit skip.
"They're the top curling nation in the world," raved lead Diane Nelson.
BACK FROM THE DEAD
Martin's rink came into the game in the same state of shock that Law's team left it.
They came back from the dead. They'd curled their last game of the round robin and had a 5-4 record and were toast. They had the bye and thought it was bye-bye Olympic dream. But in the last draw Switzerland beat Germany to create a three-way tie between Germany, Sweden and Great Britain for the fourth playoff position. The Brits had to first beat Sweden and then Germany in tie-breaker games Tuesday to get to this game.
The best they'd ever done before was lose to Law in the semifinal and finish fourth at the home-country worlds in Glasgow in 2000.
"We're probably a little bit in shock,'' admitted Law.
It was that one shot in the fourth and the steal of two.
"I didn't expect to push them in for two,'' she said of losing to a team she'd beat 8-3 in the round robin.
"When she played that shot we were very surprised she didn't make it,'' said Martin.
The other place the Canadians let the game get away was in the seventh.
"My last rock didn't curl enough,'' said Law.
"I think you have to look at the way Great Britain played. They didn't make many mistakes.''
Knowing the curling crowd, there's probably going to be a lot of talk about them having a team psychologist considering the way the noose got tight around their neck.
"As they game went on, I thought they started to get more nervous, especially when we weren't giving them a chance to get back in.''
Law wouldn't put a negative spin on the psychology business and says she doesn't believe they'll come home to anything more than sympathy and compassion.
"I think we're a very popular team in Canada,'' she said. "We're good sportsmen. I don't think Canada will look low on us or turn their backs on us. I think they'll support us.''
It might involve a matter of degrees. And if they at least manage to bring home a bronze against American Kari Erickson today.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
2002 Games Curling Coverage
