Scottish world curling champion Bruce Mouat is ready to embrace pyrotechnics, pints and possibly a bit of profanity if it draws audiences to Rock League, his sport’s answer to cricket’s The Hundred.
The first professional curling league counts a trio of NFL players amongst its early investors and will premiere Monday in a condensed proof-of-concept tournament set to feature live music, dramatic walk-outs, innovative formats, fans in fancy dress and even an on-ice spectator bar.
Its founders drew influence from darts, golf and the WWE in an attempt to entice the committed and curious to a venture they are confident will eventually be profitable, and, most importantly for athletes like 31-year-old Mouat, provide a rare income stream.
“I think curling has had a lot of tradition in its past, and we still hold on to that at some points,” Northern United captain Mouat told the Press Association. “But I don’t think we should shy away from having pyrotechnics and a good time.
“I think as the sport evolves we need to evolve with it. You see The Hundred in cricket has created this, more similar to the darts, they want to make it a bit of a party, a bit of a laugh, people come in costumes, people choose one franchise to support.”
The first season will see curlers converge on Toronto, where six mixed-nationality franchises based in Europe, Canada, the United States and “Asia-Pacific” will face off.
Teams collectively compete for a $250,000 (£189,000) prize pot across a multi-format week that, unusually, includes mixed fours. Athletes also receive a participation fee, a development which Mouat admitted “wasn’t necessarily something I thought was going to happen in my career lifespan.”
Curling received considerable attention at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, largely due to ‘Boopgate’, a clash between the Canadian and Swedish teams – including an f-bomb caught on a hot mic – over alleged cheating.
Mouat, who skipped the British men to Olympic silver in Italy, said: “That moment brought a lot of eyes to our sport, and they say no publicity is bad publicity.
“We’ve seen a massive influx of people looking at our sport because of that situation. It was also quite a meme-able moment for curling.
“You have to have a bit of a laugh. As much as it was intense in the moment, I think it’s now a bit of a funny story for a lot of the curlers.”
Rock League’s early investors include NFL tight ends George Kittle and TJ Hockenson, and Hall of Fame defensive end Jared Allen.
Founder Nic Sulsky, who also owns parent company The Curling Group, is happy to take on disgruntled purists.
“Sport needs villains,” he told the Press Association. “If I have to play (that role) in the early days, that’s cool.
“You can’t dislike what we’re doing and the change we’re trying to bring into the sport and at the same time, loving the curlers who are supporting what we’re doing.
“You can’t love curling without respecting the fact that curlers should be paid more money.”
IPA
