Will the 2002 'Men with Brooms' Have a Resurgence Following the Curling Popularity at the Milano Cortina Games?

Seemingly overnight, viewers around the world have become enwrapped in the world of curling, with dramatic moments like Canada’s supposed cheating to Sweden’s ultimate victory getting everyone talking. So what does this mean for the sport, and could the underrated 2002 classic, Men With Brooms, finally get the attention it deserves?

The first thing to note is that this surge in attention isn’t exactly unusual. On the contrary, there are plenty of pastimes and games that, out of nowhere, come out of the woodwork and gain a new lease of life.

The latest leisure trend, for instance, is bingo, with thousands of millennials swarming to bingo halls, likely due to the popularity of bingo online and the reinvigorated interest spawned from its accessibility. 

Old games like Starcraft and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, too, have seen a boost in sales due to the popularity of eSporting events that have attracted enormous streaming audiences. In the world of sport, this happens more often.

In the last Olympics, for example, there was a surge of interest in sport climbing, with a noticeable rise in grassroots interest and participation as a result. Curling is the latest niche sport to receive that kind of attention – attention that it didn’t have even after the release of the 2002 movie Men With Brooms.

Remember the movie Men With Brooms? Probably not, and we don’t blame you. Released nearly 24 years ago and starring Paul Gross, Men With Brooms was a Canadian comedy that sought to popularise curling by turning it into a fun, quirky, and relatable sport for mainstream audiences. It followed a ragtag group of former curlers who reunite to compete in a provincial championship – only they’re met with several snags and hiccups along the way. 

It received a bit of love, a bit of hate, but ultimately became one of those early noughties movies that disappeared into the pop-culture ether. Now, however, it might just come back.

As we mentioned before, when people tuned in to watch Mariah Carey open the Milano Cortina Games, few would have predicted just how big a part curling would play in it. Those same people now have a curling stone-shaped hole in their lives, and because the sport is so niche, there aren’t a lot of mainstream entertainment options to turn to. 

Sure, you could watch some videos on YouTube or follow highlights on sports networks, but it’s not like you can dash outside and get into the sport yourself – you need a dedicated curling club for that, a set of stones, and proper ice to play on. 

Not to mention, watching the sport is a different experience from actually playing it. It might look easy, but actually, curling is a complex ice-sport discipline that requires precision and detailed strategy. In other words, if you’re not prepared to put in the work, watching it is often far more entertaining than slipping around on the ice!

So are people watching it? This movie that came and went in the blink of an eye back in 2002: are people going back and discovering just how much of a hidden gem it actually is? At the moment, it’s hard to tell. Although it’s available on streaming services like Paramount+ and Disney+, they don’t typically release information on viewership numbers until after a quarter has passed. 

For now, then, all we can do is wait and see how the movie does and – even more importantly – whether the sport of curling maintains its post-Olympic momentum. If we see a Men With Brooms 2 coming out in the near future, it’s safe to assume the curling craze has continued!

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