I never gave curling a second thought. Now, after watching matches in the 2026 Olympic Games, I'm transfixed by the granite stone's looping, gliding motions and intrigued by its strategic intricacies.
This is such a wonderful essay, a breath of fresh air. Evidently curling also offers some pretty fine lessons associated with physics and I hope teachers pick up on that (there are posts on social). Delighted that you wrote this.
Thanks, Cathy, for your generous feedback, and yes, lots of physics and math (angles) involved in curling. The deeper you go into it, the more fascinating the sport becomes.
Wish I’d had the chance to write about curling for SI. I watched the U.S. mixed doubles team play a thrilling match for the silver today. I’m enthralled.
Fascinating inside look at curling, Melissa. So good, in fact, it prompted me to check in with one of your alma maters, Sports Illustrated, to see if they had anything similar. Plenty of curling coverage but nothing I could find that paints the picture of how the athlete, the stone and the ice actually interact. They could still use your eye!
I tried curling last winter in northern Michigan. I wish I had read your piece ahead of time.
Also enjoyed your look back at The Bird. As a Tigers fan in the 80s, there was nothing like heading to Michigan and Trumbull when The Bird was on the mound.
I was extremely sad when his life ended in his early 50s with an accident at the auto repair shop where he worked. A great pitcher and a good human being.
This is such a wonderful essay, a breath of fresh air. Evidently curling also offers some pretty fine lessons associated with physics and I hope teachers pick up on that (there are posts on social). Delighted that you wrote this.
Thanks, Cathy, for your generous feedback, and yes, lots of physics and math (angles) involved in curling. The deeper you go into it, the more fascinating the sport becomes.
Wish I’d had the chance to write about curling for SI. I watched the U.S. mixed doubles team play a thrilling match for the silver today. I’m enthralled.
Fascinating inside look at curling, Melissa. So good, in fact, it prompted me to check in with one of your alma maters, Sports Illustrated, to see if they had anything similar. Plenty of curling coverage but nothing I could find that paints the picture of how the athlete, the stone and the ice actually interact. They could still use your eye!
I tried curling last winter in northern Michigan. I wish I had read your piece ahead of time.
Also enjoyed your look back at The Bird. As a Tigers fan in the 80s, there was nothing like heading to Michigan and Trumbull when The Bird was on the mound.
What a cool picture of you with The Bird. I was a huge fan of his. I bought a book about him at the Scholastic book fair in jr high.
I was extremely sad when his life ended in his early 50s with an accident at the auto repair shop where he worked. A great pitcher and a good human being.
It really was so sad.