Curling's cult appeal explained
The Winter Olympics have launched in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but for all the televised offerings that include the daredevil speeds of downhill skiing, the balletic grace of figure skating and the physical wonders of snowboarding, only one set of the Games' elite athletes can lay claim to being in competition each day: curlers.
Introduced in the first Winter Olympics in 1924, curling was a sporadic presence at the Games before taking hold in the late '90s. Involving a long sheet of ice and polished granite stones being slid toward a bull's-eye target (the house) while guided by vigorous use of a broom, the sport was a ratings hit during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Hugely popular in Canada, the competition carries an eccentric sort of viewer appeal - the sight of a huddle of people
