Thiessen: The Brier’s other Brandonite

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This article was published 07/03/2012 (5205 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SASKATOON — Nolan Thiessen has a Brier championship and a world men’s curling title to his name, but feels he still can’t get the full support of his hometown while competing for a Canadian men’s curling championship.

Thiessen, who moved to Brandon when he was four years old and went on to graduate high school in the Wheat City, felt fans were cheering more for Jeff Stoughton’s team than his Alberta-based team skipped by Kevin Koe when he made his Brier debut in 2010. The reason was simple: Rob Fowler was playing second for Manitoba.

Thiessen, who won the Brier and world championship that year, thought he might get more support from Brandonites in his return to the Brier this year in Saskatoon. Then he learned Fowler was skipping Manitoba’s entry.

“The last time I was at the Brier, Rob was there, so I keep saying I can’t get the entire town behind me because Rob shows up,” joked Thiessen, who is curling 87 per cent this week. “I still know all those guys real well, the Manitoba team, and curled against them over the years.”

Thiessen would like to have the support of Brandon, where his parents still live, but he has no regrets about his move to Alberta and teaming up with Koe, who’s 6-1 heading into today’s games.

“It’s great,” said Thiessen, who moved to Alberta in 2004 after attending the University of Manitoba. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team to play with. I won a Brier and world title, so I can’t complain about anything that’s happened so far. It’s definitely been a good move and I know everyone in Brandon may not be cheering for us, but hopefully (our success) continues.”

While Thiessen has been focused on how his team is doing at the Brier, he admits he’s pulling for Manitoba, except for today when Alberta and Manitoba meet at 6:30 p.m. There’s no sense of guilt, however, as he’s heard similar sentiments from the Fowler supporters as well.

“When we play them, I definitely won’t be pulling for them,” he said. “I’ll be pulling for a few misses, but I hope they do well for sure. … I was chatting with Allan Lyburn’s dad and he was like ‘We’re cheering for you guys except when we play you guys, then we’re not cheering for you.’ I said my parents are the same way. It’ll be fun for sure.”

• • •

Ontario skip Glenn Howard set a new record for most all-time games played at a Brier when he beat Saskatchewan’s Scott Manners 7-5 in an extra end Tuesday. That was his 175th game, breaking the previous record he shared with his brother, Russ.

Howard didn’t even know he was close to the record until he arrived in Saskatoon, but he’s proud of the accomplishment.

“It’s a lot of games and it’s pretty neat to say you’ve played more Brier games than anybody in history,” said the three-time champion, who added to his total in Tuesday night’s game against Manitoba. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of playing in the Brier with my brother and Wayne (Middaugh) and Pete (Corner) and all those guys I’ve curled with over the years. It’s a credit to them, that I’ve been able to surround myself with great curlers and we’ve been able to get them here. I’ve really enjoyed every minute and I can’t believe it’s been 175 games. That’s a lot of curling.”

» cjaster@brandonsun.com