Scotties Bronze: The game no one wants to play

As Manitoba and Quebec traded hits and draws, Sunday, for the right to wear a Scotties' bronze medal (a game won by Manitoba, 8-6), the underlying sentiment that once again permeated the discussion around the game was: "Why?"

In fairness to the players, I'm sure that once they got out on the ice, they cared. Really competitive curlers, like really competitive athletes in any sport always want to win the game in which they're involved.

I once had the pleasure of curling with Manitoba Skip Jennifer Jones in a charity bonspiel a few years ago. She treated the event appropriately, having lots of fun. But let me tell you, when it came to calling the game and making her shots, she was all business. She wanted to WIN.

The Canadian Curling Association added bronze medal games to The Scotties and The Brier, last year. The discussion leading up to, and since that decision, has been dominated by negativity. Players don't see the need to add another game to their already rigorous championship week schedule. They figure that the team that loses the semi-final the night before should already have claimed the bronze.

However, for curling fans, the bronze medal game can be entertaining.

Take last year's Brier bronze. Alberta's Kevin Martin was bested by Newfoundland's Brad Gushue, 10-5, in a very entertaining game filled with great shotmaking and aggressive calls. In a media scrum the night before his clash with Gushue, Martin was clear in his desire: No bronze medal games, please.

Although Martin came around a little after his loss to Gushue, saying he had some fun, he told Postmedia:

Gushue, who is once again Brier bound this year, was happy to win last year's bronze medal game. But, again, that's likely because no one ever wants to lose, more than there being a rush in taking victory in a 3rd place game. Like Martin, he'd expressed his disappointment in there even being a game, in the days that led up to it. Gushue took to twitter this morning to reiterate that stance, in a humourous way:

For players, this really seems to be an issue of humility. They see no need to subject teams that have just had their championship dreams scuttled to what some deem an embarrassing exercise. Curlers, like hockey players, think of things in terms of gold. If you're not playing for gold, what's the point?

For the Canadian Curling Association, it's a few more tickets sold, perhaps. As well as a linking to World Curling Federation sensibilities, which has had bronze medal games at its championships for years.

For the curling fan, it's an opportunity to see a little bit of swashbuckling out there, especially from the men, who otherwise spend most of their time playing it close to the vest (understandably so), opting for aggressive or spectacular shot calls, it seems, only when forced into it.

For TSN, it's a chance for a few more eyeballs on their screen and a chance to sell a little more advertising space. Which means, a few more chances for us to hear the phrase "I can see you Carl," in that Capital One commercial.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of this game in the future.

Because, in curling, "the battle for bronze" more aptly describes the discussion as to whether these games should actually continue to be held at all.