Fargo or New York? Easy call for gold medal U.S. curling team

FARGO, N.D.—John Shuster’s U.S. Olympic curling team had planned for a whirlwind couple of months in 2018, hoping to bounce from the Pyeongchang Games to the USA Nationals in Fargo and then perhaps on to the World Curling Championship in Las Vegas. Then they won a gold medal . On Friday, the day before the start of the national tournament, Shuster’s team found themselves being chauffeured around the Big Apple after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It’s part of a celebrity tour that includes television appearances, a Sports Illustrated photo shoot, the ceremonial puck drop at an NHL game, an outdoor curling exhibition in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and even a cameo by Tyler George and Matt Hamilton in a Broadway play.

As a result, the team has bowed out of the Fargo event. Team member John Landsteiner said “it hurts a little bit” to miss his first national tournament in 12 years and a shot at worlds, but it’s tough to complain about the VIP treatment in New York.

“We keep kind of joking about it: ‘Well, we could be in Fargo right now,’” Landsteiner said, chuckling.

Rick Patzke, the CEO of Stevens Point, Wisconsin-based USA Curling who is accompanying the group in New York, said the team is handling its newfound fame well, knowing that it’s the best chance any U.S. curling team has had to promote the game that has seen steady growth since it became an official Olympic sport in 2006.

“They kind of wake up and say, “Where do we go today?’ It’s kind of like ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ times a thousand,” said Patzke, referring to the 1980s movie starring Matthew Broderick.

Said Landsteiner, “It all feels pretty cool to a bunch of small-town guys from Minnesota.”

Patzke said Shuster’s team is still hoping to make an appearance in Fargo, although that could be nixed by a West Coast media tour.

“If we can have a plane change in Fargo, that would be great,” he said.

The national tournament at Scheels Arena in Fargo kicks off with the opening ceremony Saturday and ends with the men’s and women’s championships on March 10. While fans may be disappointed that Team Shuster isn’t playing, tourney organizers say their gold medal places more attention on the event and there are several men’s and women’s teams that could be future Olympic medalists.