Curler Hamilton enjoying newfound fame
Gold-medal winner is from McFarland
Matt Hamilton had just gotten off a plane in Los Angeles and was returning my phone call when a woman tapped him on the shoulder. He excused himself for a few seconds and I could hear bits and pieces of a muffled conversation.
He got back on the phone and apologized.
“Someone on the plane just recognized me,” he said with a bemused chuckle. “She works for a men’s clothing line and told me to shoot her an email if I need something.” Ah, the life of a stud curler.
One month ago, Hamilton, of McFarland, was an anonymous member of the U.S. Olympic curling team led by skip John Shuster, a former bartender who works part time at Dick’s Sporting Goods and who finished last in Vancouver and second-to-last in Sochi.
The “team of rejects,” as they called themselves, couldn’t even get support from USA Curling’s high-performance program.
But after a 2-4 start at the Pyeongchang Games and a pep talk from Mr. T — the Knute Rockne of curling, apparently — Team Shuster bounced back to win the gold medal, beating powerhouse Canada twice along the way and upsetting Sweden in the final.
Talk about an electric slide. The out-of-nowhere performance quickly was dubbed the “Miracurl on Ice.”
All of America seemed to get, ahem, swept up in the curlers’ story. Former Packer Donald Driver was among those who jumped on board early with Twitter shout-outs and Team Shuster’s slow-motion march to the gold went viral on social media. A “Stone Gold Champs” Tshirt is one of the topselling items on Team USA’s website.
What was it about these otherwise perfectly average Midwestern Joes that so captivated a nation?
“I think there’s a couple things,” Hamilton said. “One, we’re mic’d up during our games and we’re on the ice for 21⁄2 to 3 hours. You feel like you’re building a relationship with people, like they can get to know you.
“The other part is we look like normal dudes. No one on the team is an Adonis by any means. We’re fit, but we’re very relatable. I think people like that.”
Whatever the reasons, the mustachioed Hamilton and his teammates suddenly are living the life of A-list celebrities.
There was the obligatory whirlwind New York City tour, where they rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Then it was off to Washington, D.C., where they participated in a ceremonial puck drop for an NHL game.
The 29-year-old Hamilton, especially, is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame.
With his playful personality, rugged good looks and everyman frame, he became the face of the team during its Olympic run.
Actor Nick Offerman volunteered in a tweet to play Hamilton if a movie about the curlers and their story is made.
At the Lyceum Theater in New York, Hamilton and teammate Tyler George were called up on stage during the Broadway musical, “The Play That Goes Wrong.” The crowd chanted “USA! USA!”
And then there’s this: the Milwaukee-based National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is coming out with a collectible Hamilton bobble, according to founder and CEO Phil Sklar.
Hamilton already has signed off on the rendering and the first-ever curling bobble will be available in June.
“I mean, the mustache doesn’t hurt,” Hamilton said, when asked to explain his appeal. “Personality is part of it. I wear my emotion on my sleeves. I’m having fun and I look like I’m having fun. I think people thought that was infectious.”
Hamilton, who works at Spectrum Brands in Middleton when he’s not jet-setting around the country, was in Los Angeles last week to meet with Amanda Marzolf, an agent at Abrams Artists Agency who has put out some feelers for the curler.
“Some endorsements would be nice,” he said. “I’m hoping to do ‘Amazing Race’ with my sister (Becca Hamilton, a member of the U.S. Olympic women’s curling team). I told (Marzolf) I was kind of into cooking, so she said if there was a guest judge opportunity on ‘Chopped’, she’d keep me in the loop.”
“The gold medal,” he concluded, “has opened up some insane opportunities.”
Hamilton and Team Shuster will be back in L.A. later this month to show the bachelors on “The Bachelorette” how to curl. Between now and then, they’re competing in the Elite 10 curling tournament in Winnipeg, Canada.
Hamilton is savoring every moment of his newfound fame.
He returned home to find a pile of gift boxes at his house. Beer from Guinness. A Spikeball game set. Girl Scout cookies. And he’s warmed quickly to the idea of being recognized in public.
“I’ll be walking through the airport and people will say, ‘That’s him. That’s the curling guy,’ ” he said. “People want to come up and say hi and I totally encourage it. But it’s kind of weird for a small-town kid from McFarland.”
At some point, the novelty of being Matt Hamilton will wear off. There’s an expiration date for everything and curling fame, we suspect, is short-lived. Until then, though, he’s game for anything.
“I’m more than ready for it,” he said. “I like the go-go lifestyle. I just want to see stuff, experience a lot of things.”
As they say, a sliding stone gathers no moss.
Whatever the reasons, the mustachioed Hamilton and his teammates suddenly are living the life of A-list celebrities. There was the obligatory whirlwind New York City tour, where they rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”