The latest episode of WorldCurlingTV’s “Around the House” series caught up with the Norwegian men’s curling team at the European Championships in Stavanger, Norway.
The rink, skipped by Thomas Ulsrud, won silver, just as it did at the 2010 Olympics. There was more talk about their eye-catching pants, too. (NBC Olympics researcher John Howe detailed the story behind Norway’s curling pants from the World Championships earlier this year).
“I think maybe it has helped with sponsors and all that for curling in general across the world,” team member Christoffer Svae said.
Svae was the one who purchased the pants before the Vancouver Olympics, but Ulsrud was not on board at first.
“No way I’m playing in those pants,” he said at the European Championships. “Look like a clown. If you do bad in those, the person’s going to kill you.”
Havard vad Petersson was also skeptical.
“To me it looked like a Dutch ice [speed] skating fan,” he said.
The team has grown into the pants, which WorldCurling TV said were “made with the right amount of stretch and perfect for the physical demands of the sport.” They have even louder versions they don for social occasions.
“The most brilliant thing we ever did,” Ulsrud said. “They’re a trademark now. Whenever we travel to Canada, we get recognized.”