The Great Canadian Ratings Report: Curling's popularity too often overlooked

In many ways, curling has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of sports. (For those born after 1990, Yahoo him.)

It's not just that curling doesn't get respect -- remember all the broom and vacuum cleaner jokes in the U.S. media when the sport made its Olympic debut? -- it's that it's also taken for granted. In that way, maybe curling is more like oatmeal or Peter Mansbridge.

So, when a relatively shiny new bauble like the Toronto Raptors comes along and starts getting some attention from TV viewers, it's easy to overlook the good, old reliable roaring game. Drawing a decent audience is something new for Canada's only NBA team. For curling, it's simply the way it always has been.

While the Raptors are experiencing percentage increases in the triple digits, curling just keeps rolling along, drawing strong audiences whenever cameras catch a broom touching the ice. And while the Raptors' rise should be celebrated, it also needs to be noted that three of last weekend's Grand Slam Canadian Open curling programs outdrew basketball's biggest audience.

What's even more notable is that the Raptors have one of the best records in the NBA and have been building an audience since last spring's playoff run, but still couldn't outdraw what is basically a regular-season event. While the Canadian Open audiences were good, they will pale in comparison to the ratings put up by the Tournament of Hearts and Brier.

And it's not just basketball that gets run over by curling's popularity. Last weekend's men's final was watched by an average audience of 413,000 on CBC, outdrawing some pretty big players. It put up bigger numbers than Rogers' much-hyped Sunday night hockey game between Calgary and Chicago, Monday Night Football, a Broncos-Chargers NFL game and a whole lot more.

If curling still isn't getting respect, it certainly should.

Here are the most-watched English-language sports events from the past weekend, according to Numeris overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Wings-Leafs/Hawks-Isles/Ducks-Jets/Lightning-Caps, Saturday, CBC-Rogers: 1,840,000

2. NFL, 49ers at Seahawks, Sunday, CTV: 758,000

3. NFL, Packers-Bills/Dolphins-Patriots, Sunday, CTV: 741,000

4. NHL, Kings at Leafs, Sunday, Sportsnet Ontario: 694,000

5. NHL, Rangers at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 665,000

6. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC-Rogers: 526,000

7. NFL, Cowboys at Eagles, Sunday, TSN: 460,000 (NBC audience not measured)

8. Curling, Canadian Open men's final, Sunday, CBC: 413,000

9. NHL, Flames at Blackhawks, Sunday, City: 365,000

10. NFL, Saints at Bears, Monday, TSN: 335,000

11. Curling, Canadian Open women's final, Sunday, Sportsnet One, East, West, Pacific: 318,000

12. Curling, Canadian Open men's quarterfinal, Saturday, CBC: 317,000

13. NFL, Broncos at Chargers, Sunday, TSN: 309,000

14. NBA, Pacers at Raptors, Friday, TSN: 297,000

15. NBA, Raptors at Knicks, Sunday, TSN2: 284,000

16. Curlling, Canadian Open semifinals, Saturday, Sportsnet: 273,000

17. UFC, Santos vs. Miocic, Saturday, Sportsnet360: 235,000

18. Soccer, Liverpool at Manchester United, Sunday, TSN: 200,000

19. Curling, Canadian Open Draw 12, Friday, Sportsnet: 186,000

20. NHL, Flames at Penguins, Friday, Sportsnet West: 171,000

21. Curling, Canadian Open women's quarterfinals, Saturday, Sportsnet One: 169,000

22. Soccer, Tottenham at Swansea, TSN: 149,000

23. NHL, Rangers at Oilers, Sunday, Sportsnet West: 141,000

24. NHL, Ducks at Oilers, Friday, Sportsnet West: 139,000

25. NHL, Kings at Canadiens, Friday, Sportsnet East: 137,000

25. Soccer, Newcastle at Arsenal, Saturday, Sportsnet: 137,000

THREE TO WATCH

Behind the outdoor game's closed doors: The NHL's Winter Classic series has provided some pretty good hockey over the years, but more importantly it's given fans a good look behind the scenes with its Road to the Winter Classic coverage. This year we get to see what really happens - or at least what the league wants us to see - in the lead-up to the New Year's Day outdoor game between Chicago and Washington. The six-part series started Tuesday but a repeat will be shown Thursday (9:30 ET on Sportsnet One.) It will continue every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

It's that time again: The World Junior Hockey Championship is now as much a part of the Canadian Christmas tradition as gift-giving, turkey and indigestion. With Toronto and Montreal sharing the event this year, hopes are high that Canada can end its five-year championship drought and silence those who take every defeat as a condemnation of the national hockey system. Team Canada will give fans a notion of their strength with a pre-tournament game against the always dangerous Russians (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, TSN.)

Always on a Sunday: There are plenty of important games in the NFL this weekend, what with the season nearing an end. One of the games with huge implications features the red-hot defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks trying to steal the NFL West title from the Arizona Cardinals. The fact the Cardinals will be starting their third-string quarterback may dictate the outcome. (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC and TSN.)