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• For many years, Labonte showed up at world championships, introduced himself to the Canadian team, and playfully put the hex on them again.

• After the incident, Labonte was given the nickname “Boots.”

BRITISH GOLD

When Rhona Martin took top spot in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, the win set off a wild celebration back in Scotland (her country of residence) and across Great Britain. Some remarkable facts about Martin and that victory:

• Prior to being selected to represent Britain at the Olympics, Martin had made it to 10 national championships and finished second a remarkable nine times. She did represent Scotland at the European championships but lost in the semi-finals five of six times and subsequently lost all five bronze medal games.

• More than 7 million viewers in Britain tuned into the broadcast of the gold medal game even though it started at midnight local time. That set a record for the BBC.

• It was the first gold medal for Britain in 19 Olympiads.

• Martin and her team of Janice Ranin, Fiona Macdonald, and Debbie Knox became household celebrities across Britain, even receiving MBEs. However, their fame was fleeting. Five years later, Martin was living in part off social security after her husband left her. She later gained a job as a curling instructor.

IRON CURLING

While granite stones are the traditional implements of use in curling games around the world, it hasn’t always been that way.

From 1807 until the early 1920s in Quebec and the Ottawa Valley, curling “irons” were the choice—markers made of metal that weighed up to 80 pounds. According to the book Sports and Games in Canadian Life, 1700 to the Present, Maxwell L. Howell and Nancy Howell suggest that the first of these irons were derived from the metal-rimmed hubcaps of gun carriages. Handles were inserted into these to turn them into curling “stones.”

It was only in this area that irons were used, and one of the reasons they disappeared was a financial gesture of the Macdonald Tobacco Company. It wanted to start a national curling championship and needed Quebec curlers to participate. To entice them, the tobacco company spent thousands of dollars to buy granite stones for many curling clubs in Quebec, easing the transition to the rock era.

BROTHERS—AND SISTERS—IN BROOMS

Curling siblings have been common sights atop the podiums of major events, showing that perhaps the ability to draw the button is genetic. Here are some of the more successful curling siblings:

Russ and Glenn Howard: The duo won two world championships together, and separately they’ve also been successful. Russ was a part of Brad Gushue’s gold medal-winning squad at the 2006 Olympics, while Glenn won a third world crown skipping his own team in 2007.

Julie and Jodi Sutton: The two won the Canadian championship in 1991, five years after combining to capture the national junior crown. Julie also has a bronze medal from the 2002 Olympics.

Jim and Tom Wilson: The Wilson brothers were a feared front end in the late 1970s and early ’80s, sweeping for Rick Folk’s Saskatchewan rink. They helped the team win a Canadian and world championship in 1980.

Ernie and Sam Richardson: Two members of the famed Richardson rink from Saskatchewan, which won four Briers in five years. Ernie was the skip while Sam (whose real name was Garnet) played second. Two other cousins, Arnold and Wes, were also members of the rink.

Ken and Grant Watson: These brothers paired up to win three Brier crowns between 1936 and 1949, a record for siblings.

Connie, Corinne, and Janet Laliberte: With Connie at skip, these three sisters swept their way to the Canadian championship in 1984. Connie and Janet combined for two more titles as well.

The Campbells: Don, Garnett, Lloyd, and Sam won the 1954 Brier playing out of Saskatchewan. It’s the only time four brothers have combined on a team to win a national championship.

The Campbells

Cassie Potter and Jamie Haskell: The sisters from Bemidji, Minnesota, have been U.S. champions