Battling Brier Bids: Sault Ste Marie and St. John's both want the 2017 championship

Maybe they should have Team Jacobs and Team Gushue decide the matter on the ice at this year's Brier, in Calgary.

Not that their game on March 5th won't be a spicy meatball as it is.

If you added hosting the 2017 Brier to the stakes, that would make for one heck of a Thursday morning draw.

First, 2006 Olympic gold medalist and 12 time Brier participant, Brad Gushue, made his intentions known. He wants the 2017 Brier to be staged in his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Specifically, in St. John's.

Now, 2014 Olympic gold medalist and 2013 Brier champion Brad Jacobs has launched his own campaign (along with his teammates) to get the 2017 event to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Both of the bids have the blessing and support of the municipalities, neither of which has hosted a Brier in a long, long, long time.

When last The Soo hosted, it was 1990. You go even farther back - much farther back - to find the last time St. John's was the host. That would be 1972.

Let's have a look at each bid's video presentation, starting with Sault Ste. Marie's, below.

Now, St. John's.

Will this cause a little extra tension at this year's Brier? The Soo's bid might just frost Gushue a bit, as his city officially launched its bid three weeks ago. As well, while Gushue's desire to have the Brier hosted by St. John's hit the 'official bid stage' only recently, it's something he's been working on for quite some time, now.

The Soo's bid launch includes its own website and a call for interested fans to plunk down a $50.00 deposit, which organizers hope will show the Canadian Curling Association that they're serious.

"We just thought that this would be way that we would make our bid kind of stand out, instead of the standard bid, just saying 'Blah, blah, blah,' we want to show that we have our community behind us," said Sault Ste. Marie's Executive Director of Tourism, Ian McMillan.

He'd be right, if Gushue's group hadn't already done the exact same thing, three weeks ago. (The St. John's Brier website can be found here)

So, it's 'game on' for the right to host the 2017 Brier. The CCA must be feeling quite flattered these days.

Either of these curling hotbeds would make for a great Brier host, it seems to me. Maybe the best of all possible outcomes would be to go to one in 2017 and the other in 2018.

But there ain't much drama in that.

With Jacobs and Gushue each being ranked among the contenders for this year's Brier, there's a good possibility we could see them square off against each other in the championship game. If so, having them duke it out for more than just the trophy on the table would be a bit of fun, no?