Rock Stars: Team Gushue's Road to Gold.

Bonnie J. White is a Ph.D. candidate in History Department at McMaster
University.

Robin Short’s story of Team Gushue’s road to the XX Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, is a celebratory history of the team’s sporting accomplishments. It traces players Brad Gushue, Jamie Korab, Mark Nichols, Russ Howard, and Mike Adam on their route to Olympic gold, paying particular attention to the triumphs and disappointments each member experienced along the way. The main character of Short’s book is Brad Gushue, the team leader, whose dedication to the game of curling is made evident early on. Short begins by presenting the reader with a slightly different side to Gushue than appeared on Canadian television screens in the winter of 2006. His confidence and determination sometimes appears arrogant and misplaced, but Short does an excellent job of balancing Gushue’s sporting and private lives, presenting a softer, more vulnerable side to his personality through his familial relationships, particularly with his mother. At the same time, Short explores the difficulties and conflicts common to team sports, without ever losing sight of the camaraderie and respect each member had for the others. Of particular interest is the integration of Russ Howard into a team of youngsters, and the controversy surrounding the team’s seemingly never-ending cycle of new players.

However, this is not just the story of one team’s road to the Olympics. It is also the story of provincial pride and the persistence of regional stereotypes. The contention by some that a young team from Newfoundland and Labrador (and New Brunswick) had little chance of winning the brier in Halifax, let alone gold in Turin, is a continual theme throughout the book. And the team’s win in Halifax did little to alleviate criticisms. Short notes that while “Four young Newfoundlanders now had a province collectively feeling good about itself,” others were taking cheap shots at “The Land Cod Forgot.” Yet, despite a few ill-advised insults, the story of Gushue and his teammates inspired collective pride among Canadians.

Short’s book is readable, interesting, and firmly grounded in Canada’s community, provincial, and national sporting cultures.