Oh, baby! Gushue has an ally in hockey announcer Bob Cole
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Hockey isn’t the only winter sport close to Bob Cole’s heart.
Cole was an elite curler before his hockey broadcasting career took off in the 1970s. He represented Newfoundland at the national men’s curling championship on two occasions and played a role in helping St. John’s land the 2017 edition of the Tim Hortons Brier.
St. John’s skip Brad Gushue was also involved in the city’s successful bid to land the event. He got some help from Cole, a longtime friend, who lent his voice to some promotional material.
Cole always kept an eye on the sport, even after he stepped back from competitive curling. When the NHL lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season, Cole would often head over to the local curling club and watch Gushue, then coming into his own as an elite skip.
“He’d sit down and eat peanuts and watch me practise,” Gushue recalled. “I’d come off the ice and he’d ask me when I’d be down the next day. I’d tell him and we did that for about as long as the lockout went on, to be honest. We became good friends.
“He’s in and out of the curling club, he hasn’t curled in a long, long time. But he does follow it. I’ve gotten calls from him at the Brier after a big game or a big loss, kind of out of nowhere. He offers just that little bit of advice, which I certainly appreciate.
“Any time you get a call from him and hear his voice, it’s kind of neat. Even though I’ve known him for many, many years, it’s still kind of cool.”
Cole, who represented Newfoundland at the 1971 Brier in Quebec City and again four years later in Fredericton, was impressed by Gushue’s ability.
“You could almost tell immediately,” Cole said from St. John’s. “You had a curler here that’s going to be as good as it gets. The finest delivery you’d want to see.”
Gushue would eventually blossom into a top curler. His glowing resumé includes an Olympic title, two world junior titles, 13 provincial crowns and several Grand Slam and cashspiel victories.
“You didn’t have to be an expert to tell that this boy has something,” Cole said.
Gushue’s breakout performance came at the Turin Olympics in 2006. Cole was also in Italy for his hockey broadcast work at the Games and on his off-day, went to nearby Pinerolo to watch Gushue’s rink in action.
Cole also took in the medal ceremony after the team won gold.
“In a crowd of, let’s say, 5,000 people, we could see [Cole] jumping and screaming,” Gushue said.
“That was kind of neat.”