Base's patience rewarded with trip to the Brier
Former junior champion was once the next big
thing
Adam Daifallah
National Post
Let's call it 11th time lucky. John Base, a
perennial participant but never a winner in the
The Oakville, Ont., curler had never finished
higher than fourth in his previous 10 tries but, playing third for Mike Harris,
the 1998 Olympic silver medallist, Base broke through
on Sunday when the Harris rink beat Glenn Howard 9-5 to earn a trip to
Saskatoon next month.
"I couldn't believe my own reaction,"
Base said yesterday. "I was overwhelmed. I've had so many calls today from
guys I've curled with over the years. I'm still kind of overwhelmed.
"It's even better than I imagined. I said
to Mike, 'We should have done this a long time ago.' "
A long time ago is when many thought Base would
play in his first Brier. In the early 1980s, he was touted as The Next Big
Thing. At a time when
"When we came out of juniors we were kind
of it. We were the young stars, and
But one rink threw a Wrench into Base's plans
-- the Dream Team of Ed Werenich, Paul Savage, John Kawaja and Neil Harrison that won the 1983 Brier and world
championship, and continued to dominate men's curling through much of the
decade.
When the Werenich
reign ended, Russ Howard's began. And when Howard moved to
Base often found himself squeezed out.
"There we were, for all those years,
trying to chase those guys in the '80s and '90s. There was a heck of a lot of
frustration," he said.
So Base made the ego-bruising decision to drop
from skip to third and seek out a new team.
"It was a bit of 'If you cant beat 'em join 'em.' Every year we were knocking at the door and not making
it. Finally, I decided it was time to join them or quit," he said.
Base hooked up with Harris four years ago, but
Harris's nagging back problems basically kept the team sidelined for three
years. Now, Base says his skip is back playing in Olympic form.
The Harris rink, with Base at third, second
Phil Loevenmark and lead Trevor Wall, will surely be
a favourite in
Over the years, Base has also been a central
figure in the sport's politics. Despite being one of the founding
vice-presidents of the players association, he didn't side with his elite
brethren in the recently-resolved feud between the Grand Slam and the Canadian
Curling Association (CCA).
According to Base, the pendulum was already
swinging in favour of the players before the revolt
began and a boycott of the Brier playdowns wasn't
going to help matters.
"I was very significantly concerned about
the goals of the Grand Slam and the modus operandi -- how they were going about
getting to the goals," he said.
"I was very vocal. To choose to boycott at
that point, I didn't think was even remotely appropriate ... I felt very
strongly we should build on what we had, and not tear down what we had to build
something new."
Base puts it in golf terms -- "the Brier
always has and always will be the U.S. Open, and if we want to create a PGA and
a Masters and a British Open, so be it."
Participants at the Brier will now be able to
wear sponsor cresting on their jackets and, in the near future, prize money
will be awarded.
Many believe these changes -- or concessions,
depending on which side you believe -- were offered by the CCA when it was
under pressure to end the boycott.
So how does Base feel about reaping the
benefits of the change despite not having participated in the revolt himself?
"I honestly don't think the action made
any difference," Base insists.
"The changes that are in place now were
there [before the boycott]. There's maybe more changes coming down the road,
but we would have gotten there without it."
Just as he got to the Brier.
Here's hoping it doesn't take another 11 tries
to return again.
adaifallah@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2004