Curling - Men's Tickets

When you think of sports at the Winter Olympics, I doubt Curling is one of the first that comes to mind.

However, the sport's popularity has been surprisingly high. At the past Olympics, curling was a surprise hit when it came to television ratings.

I'm not sure whether that was simply curiousity for a sport that is never seen or talked about outside of the Olympics, or whether people around the world truly love watching it.

It drew an unbelievable five million viewers, which was more than ice hockey and figure skating, which are considered two of the most popular sports.

Here in the United States, curling is the type of sport that appears once every four years for two weeks at the Olympics and then disappears again. The fact so little of it is shown probably makes it all the more interesting when the Olympics come around.

The United States is not considered to be one of the Curling "powers," but they did manage to win two bronze medals at the 2006 games. They will be looking to improve upon those results heading into 2010.

In general, the European countries and Canada tend to be the top teams. If there is one theme at the Winter Olympics, it's that the countries that are located in cold climates tend to collect the most medals.

Sweden, Switzerland and Canada were the top teams in Curling at the 2006 Olympics and will be looking for similar performances in Vancouver. The Canadian team will certainly benefit from having the home crowd urging them on.

The fact that one of the favorites will be playing in front of their home fans will surely add to the excitement of this event.