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Brad Gushue looked up at a sea of Newfoundland and Labrador flags as he walked off the ice on Thursday, saluting 6,000 adoring fans at Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s.
He’d just defeated Team Canada to earn top spot in Pool A at the Brier in his hometown. A Newfoundland song, The Islander, was pumping over the sound system.
He took a moment to soak it in.
“When it was all said and done, I just stood by the boards and they were playing The Islander out there, and I just kind of looked around and that was pretty cool,” he told reporters after the game. “I got a little emotional.”
It wasn’t lost on anyone in the building — fans, players or volunteers — that there aren’t many of these moments left in the illustrious career of Brad Gushue.
Despite being at the end of his career, Gushue was in fine form on Thursday, curling 95 per cent en route to the win.
Both veteran teams waited each other out, waiting to pounce on the first mistake. Gushue scored one in the second end and blanked the third. The teams traded singles over the next three ends, leaving a 2-2 game.
Gushue made a critical shot in the ninth end, taking advantage of a rare mistake by Brad Jacobs to score two and take the lead.
Longtime teammate Mark Nichols said he watched in awe as the crowd erupted. Team Gushue hung on in the 10th, earning the win.
