Smith rocks the crowd at Brier
Skip grabs first win and gains fans’ attention as ‘male Heather Nedohin’
On the morning when Newfoundland native Brad Gushue established a record for career Brier games won by a skip with his 114th, Greg Smith won his first for Newfoundland.
“It was incredible. Absolutely incredible,” said the 21-year-old who replaced Gushue representing The Rock while Gushue wears Team Canada colours as the defending Brier and world champion.
“We were on our eighth end when Gushue was shaking hands after his win and they put it on the scoreboard — 114 wins,” said Smith, who came from behind to register a 7-6 victory over Thomas Scoffin of Yukon.
“It was a great day for Newfoundland and Labrador curling. I’m so proud of what Brad has been able to do in his career and I was so proud of what my boys were able to do today as well.”
Smith is not shooting lights out here — his 66 per cent being the lowest among skips, while Gushue had curled 94 per cent in opening with a 3-0 record — but he’s definitely become a crowd favourite with his emotions and enthusiasm bouncing around the ice with all sorts of expressions and body language.
“I like to say I’m the male Heather Nedohin,” he said of the former Scotties champion from Alberta.
“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I’m just like that. And I have to admit I love it that the crowd seems to be feeding off it,” he said of the fans adopting himself and his team of Matthew Hunt, Andrew Taylor and Ian Withycombe.
There are no bigger Gushue fans here than those guys. Not only are they cheering for him because he’s a legend in Newfoundland, but if they ’re going to get back here again, the likely way would be for Gushue to win a second straight Brier and return as Team Canada again.
“If we can get back here next year, it would be absolutely incredible. I can’t tell you how much fun this has been for us so far. From the music in the Brier Patch to the size of the crowds to the camaraderie, it’s been an amazing experience. This has been something I won’t forget for the rest of my life.”