Episode 58- Professional Curler Korey Dropkin

Here at Why? we love it when we can gain and give perspective on those that are misunderstood or underestimated. We decided we needed to tackle and get to the bottom of what is seemingly the most mocked, yet highly televised Olympic sports on the planet- Curling.

We had a chat last summer with USA Curling Team’s Korey Dropkin to find out if the sport is really just about drinking and cigarettes while playing on the ice with stones and brooms or if there’s actually more to it. It should be no surprise to our listeners that we learned a lot and have a whole new respect for the game.

Korey comes from a family of curlers and began playing at an early age. He and his team have since medaled and placed in multiple worldwide championships such as the Junior Olympic Games (bronze) and the New Zealand Winter Games (bronze and silver). He’s also been honored twice as the USA Curling Male Athlete of the Year. Recently he and his mixed doubles partner won the Colorado Curling Cup and secured a spot in the 2020 USA Mixed Doubles National Championships. Don’t let the fact that he was willing to talk to us fool you, he’s clearly no slouch.

We had a lot of fun chatting with Korey and learning more about the sport known to be dominated by Canada yet, from what we’ve learned USA Curling is giving them and the rest of the world a run for their money. He told us a lot about what’s involved in the game including the training involved, yes, you need to be physically fit. We also talked in-depth about the strategy behind attaining victory. There’s a lot to it, way more than meets the eye. Those in the know often refer to the sport as chess on ice and after talking to Korey we can totally see why. It’s an intense mind game as well as physically taxing.

We, per usual, couldn’t resist giving our own recommendations for the sport and upping their promotion game. You know how we always like to help our guests, whether they want our help or not. We have actually put together a whole campaign to encourage the naming of his broom. We think Flash is the perfect moniker for a multitude of reasons and would appreciate our fans seconding that recommendation.

As the curling season gets fully rolling this year there are a lot of exciting things happening for Korey and his colleagues. First and foremost, you can catch them on NBCSN’s Curling Night in America. For a list of showtimes click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the sport or getting involved yourself, you can find a ton of great information on the USA Curling website here.

To rally behind our mission to get Korey to name his broom in honor of his memorable, if ridiculous, time on this podcast. We recommend hitting him up on Twitter. Plus, it’s a great spot to see all the awesome things Korey’s up to.

Curl On!