John Shuster - Up Close & Personal

So I wasn't sure what to expect when we were told that John Shuster was going to be in town, and that he was going to visit our curling club during the Open House which was held on January 31st. John Shuster, for all those new to the curling world, is the Captain (which in curling terms would be called the "Skip") of the US Olympic Men's Team at this year's Olympic Games held in Vancouver. He was actually scheduled to be on the Jay Leno show on Monday, but he did a short stop at the club since the timing was perfect.

Well, we had a mad rush of people at the Open House. We had the largest turnout ever which is 142 people. The largest we had to date was 80. I think a lot of that was generated because of John. We were frantically trying to accommodate all these people, and then standing in the back of the room was Jen and right next to her was this stranger. I meant to look up his photo on the internet earlier...anyway, something clicked. I was frantically waving hi to John Shuster like he was a long lost friend. I had to put myself in check because I didn't want to scare him since has no idea who we are, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure he felt welcome.

Anyway, John seemed really quiet and shy which surprised me....you see the Olympic Trials were really intense, and John had one of the loudest yells. I was kind of expecting a really angry guy. He was shuffled into the area, visited every open curling group, was happy to take pictures, and was open to modeling out our Hollywood Curling shirts. Team Bond Girls, of course, had a group photo with him. We monopolized about 3 hours of his time, and afterward we went out for drinks at Barney's Beanery. We had a ton of fun.

The next day was his interview with Jay Leno. A few curlers, including the Bond Girls in pink kilt form, were able to attend. We had access to the green room which was fun, and we screamed our hearts out whenever we could. I'm sure Nick, TJ, and Ryan did most of the screaming. (One of the other gals should be writing a blog about this experience; so I won't go into too much detail.) Well, I was listening to the interview, and one thing that Leno was trying to articulate was that John and his team was not like highly endorsed superstars who would scoff at participating in the Olympics because they wouldn't get paid enough. John was just an ordinary American guy who happen to have mad curling skills, and he was going to get a chance to represent America not once but twice, plus he was really humble about it. I thought, if I ever had that opportunity, I would like to follow John's example.

That night, I met up with John and the curling crew at a bar in Los Feliz and just hung out. He's about our age; so it was easy. There were a lot of laughs and a few memorable moments. At the end of the night, it was hugs and handshakes for everyone. I feel really honored to have had the opportunities that curling has given me...a place to exercise, to spend time with the husband and kick his butt, a chance to travel and compete in competitions, an opportunity to rub elbows and talk face to face with an Olympian, and open other avenues of dreams and aspirations that I never would have thought of before.

John, thank you so much for spending so much time with us. You are a great representative for the the US. We are all very proud of you and your accomplishments. We wish you love, luck, and great ice in Vancouver.

-Domino