WILY VET HOWARD HOPING TO PROVE AGE DOESN’T MATTER
Four-time Brier champion faces off against Mcewen with spot in big dance on the line
Glenn Howard admits that, at age 57, he’s an anomaly in the world of high-level curling.
“There’s very few people, if any, playing at my age at this level,” Howard said.
“But the fire is no different at 57 than it was at 22. I still want to win.”
Howard has done a lot of winning in his glorious curling career: four world championship gold medals in four appearances, four Brier titles, seven second-place finishes, three thirdplace finishes.
He has competed in the Canadian men’s curling championship 17 times and, on Friday, he hopes to make it 18.
Howard’s team from Penetanguishene, Ont., will face Winnipeg’s Mike Mcewen in the wild card game on Friday night at Leon’s Centre in Kingston, Ont.
The winner will move on to play in the Tim Hortons Brier, starting Saturday, while the loser will go home.
If Howard makes it, he’ll be one of the oldest players to ever take part in the Brier.
“Touch wood, my body has held up well,” Howard said. “I’ve kept in half-decent shape, so I think that’s part of it. Age doesn’t matter. All that matters is if you want to go out and compete and enjoy it and have fun.”
It’s remarkable that Howard is still contending to play in the Brier, when the peers of his glory days — skips like Jeff Stoughton, 56, Kevin Martin, 53, and Kerry Burtnyk, 61 — have long since retired.
“I’ve talked to those guys,” Howard said. “I think the fire was gone. They just didn’t really enjoy it as much.
“I make no qualms about it. If I go out there and start embarrassing myself and we’re losing a lot more than we’re winning, then no question the fun will come out of the game.
“But we’re still doing remarkably well. Are we the best in the world? No. But we’re in the top 10 in the country, so it’s pretty darn good. We’re still winning a good chunk of our games and I’m still enjoying it, which is what it really comes down to.”
Howard, who is backed by his son Scott Howard at third, second David Mathers and lead Tim March, is actually ninth in the Canadian Team Ranking System standings.
That got his team into the wild card game against the fourthranked Mcewen. Both teams lost their provincial finals — Howard falling in Ontario to John Epping, Mcewen in Manitoba to Jason Gunnlaugson.
Despite all his experience in the Brier, this will be a new one for Howard.
“I’m struggling to get my mind around the game, just the fact that it’s so different,” Howard said. “You’re so used to playing in your provincial — you win, you’re elated, you put the provincial colours on your back and away you go. If you come second you put your tail between your legs, you go home and you wish ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda.’
“This is different. It’s a second chance and hopefully we’re gonna take advantage of it and give ’er a go so I can get back into the show.”
Mcewen has played in the wild card game before, having beaten Gunnlaugson in 2018 in Regina.
He has said the game is “not fun to play,” although the winning teams have had a great deal of success in national championships, going a combined 40-15 in the Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts since 2018.
“It’s interesting cause you’re the only game out there, you’re playing for your life and you want nothing more than to be at the Brier,” said Reid Carruthers, who plays third for Mcewen.
“It’s almost like another provincial final and there’s that anxiety and stress and pressure of knowing that you could go all the way there and you may not win and may not earn the right to stay there.
“At the same time, the bigger picture is that it’s really nice to have a second opportunity. You earn that by having a good season. There’s a chance at redemption.”
The teams in the wild card game are always high in the CTRS rankings and that’s part of the reason why the Brier and Scotties have become so much more difficult to win in recent years. Since the addition of Team Canada and the wild card, the field is much tougher than it was 10 years ago. And there’s a bit of an advantage to being Team Wild Card if you can get through Friday night’s game.
“The one thing about playing the wild card game is you get battle tested,” Carruthers said. “You play on the ice that you’re gonna see the next day and you may have a slight jump on the teams that have not played yet.”
Mcewen’s team is slightly favoured for Friday’s game, but nobody is counting out the wily veteran Howard.
“He’s revered, respected and well liked,” Carruthers said.
“He’s an absolute gem of a guy and I’ve had some epic battles against him over the years. You always have to play really well to beat the guy. There’s a reason why he’s still curling. It’s because he’s still frickin’ good.”