Saskatchewan fans itching for first Brier win in 44 years

The Alliban sisters have been curling fans their whole lives.

Hailing from Hazlet, Lindsay Alliban and Jamie Alliban — along with their cousin-in-law Britny Andrews — have gone to curling events all over the country.

Dressed all in green, the trio said they were hoping for Saskatchewan to end its 44-year Brier title drought during the 2024 Canadian men’s curling championship at the Brandt Centre.

“We have been curling fans all our lives because we are from small-town Saskatchewan – so what do you do in the winter but curl?” Lindsay said Friday.

“We’ve been coming to the Brier for 10 (or) 12 years and we’ve went all over the country — to Newfoundland, Calgary, Regina (and) Brandon — and we love watching all the different teams curl and we are big fans.”

Jamie said they were excited for a potential Saskatchewan win. The province hasn’t claimed the Brier title since Rick Folk won it all in 1980.

“It’s been a long haul and I think we are all ready for a big win and we’re feeling really good that this is the year,” Jamie said.

Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen went 7-1 in the round-robin and finished first in his pool.

On Friday afternoon, McEwen lost 9-7 to Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher in a 1 vs. 2 Page qualifier, dropping Saskatchewan into a last-chance 3 vs. 4 Page qualifier Friday evening against Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories.

Andrews said curling is a sport for all ages and abilities and everyone should try it.

“It’s a lot of fun. I didn’t start curling until I was already into adulthood and I have really come to love the game and I think that anybody can do it. So get out there and curl,” Andrews said.

Anne Taylor from Gainsborough has been a curling fan for many years. She recalls Folk’s win and is excited about the possibility of seeing another one for Saskatchewan.

“Oh man, we need a drought end and we’re working on it,” Taylor said.

With a chance to end it, Taylor feels proud about how far the team has come.

“They have done so well, we love all of them but we also really really like a number of other teams,” she said.

Saskatoon’s Rob Marsh is the brother of Dan and Kevin Marsh, who make up the front end of McEwen’s team. Rob grew up curling and was watching his brothers compete on Friday.

“It’s nerve-wracking at times, but I know they’ve got it so it’s fun to watch,” he said.

He said it’s been a great week so far and he hopes the team has what it takes to win it all.

“That would be absolutely amazing to do it this year, especially in Regina here (with the) home crowd. It would be amazing,” Marsh said.