Curling: Feeling bronzed and beautiful in Bemidji

PINEROLO, ITALY - Put a broom in his hand and Pete Fenson's expression turns to stone, as hard as the granite curling rocks he slides so skillfully. Not even a streaker with a rubber chicken could change that Friday.

Fenson, the Bemidji-born skip of the U.S. men's team, maintained his steady nerve throughout a tense bronze-medal match against Great Britain. He wasn't bothered by the naked guy who ran onto the ice, but he couldn't ignore the pounding in his chest on the final shot.

"My heart," he said, "was going a hundred miles an hour."

He never wavered. Fenson delivered his stone to the center of the target, raised his broom and finally let loose a smile after an 8-6 victory gave the United States its first Olympic medal in curling.

The team -- which also includes Minnesotans John Shuster and Shawn Rojeski of Chisholm, Joe Polo of Cass Lake and alternate Scott Baird of Bemidji -- led the entire way to finish its Olympic run with a 7-4 record.

The final afternoon at Palaghiaccio featured bagpipers, singing fans in funny hats, enough noisemakers for a New Year's Eve party and the chicken man, who placed the rubber bird in a most strategic position. It also signified two U.S. milestones. The medal is the first since 1993 for an American men's team at an Olympics or world championship, and Baird, 54, became the oldest medalist in Winter Olympics history.

"It's a shot we've done hundreds or thousands of times," said Fenson, 37. "When I saw it curl and knew we'd hit their rock, I felt excitement and relief. It was nice to come out and get the job done."

The Brits felt only emptiness. Their carefully selected team of Scotsmen was beaten at the game its ancestors invented, falling behind 4-1 in the third end on a brilliant shot by Fenson and scrambling to catch up the rest of the way.

The lively U.K. cheering section -- matched by a Minnesotan-heavy crowd of U.S. boosters -- beat on drums, tooted kazoos and sang songs as the Brits tied it 1-1 in the second end. On the last shot of the third, Fenson's stone knocked out two British rocks in the middle of the target to score three points.

Great Britain skip David Murdoch matched him in the seventh end. Murdoch's missile bounced two U.S. rocks and scored three for the Brits, pulling them within 6-5. But the Americans' calm, precise play kept them in control until Fenson could put it away.

"Pete has nerves of steel," Polo said. "He could make that [winning shot] all day. A lot of people thought curlers were big, fat, lazy guys, but we proved it takes an athlete to come out and win."

Team members said the Bemidji Curling Club, where they train, planned to open the grill for the start of the match -- 6 a.m. Minnesota time -- and serve breakfast to whomever wanted to come watch the live broadcast. Throughout the Games, club members and other Bemidji residents have sent e-mails and other messages of support.

The medal came on a melancholy day for Rojeski. Friday was the second anniversary of the death of his mother, Bonnie, who passed her love of curling to Shawn and hoped he would make the Olympic team one day.

"A couple months ago, when the schedule came out, I recognized the day right away," Rojeski said. "This was a goal of mine and my mom's. It was great to be able to finish it off."

Fenson and his crew helped make curling a TV hit. People could identify with their regular-guy backgrounds -- the pizza shop owner, the engineer and students -- and the team hopes the exposure they got during the Olympics will encourage more people to try the sport.

Fenson also performed extremely well at the Games, drawing praise from other teams and elevating his status on the international scene.

After the skip's big shot, the Bemidji bunch high-fived and waved to their emotional families and friends in the stands. Tonight, the group will have their bronze doughnuts, as Polo called them, draped around their necks to kick off the big nightly party at the medals plaza in Turin's historic city center.

And Fenson, after wearing a stone face for most of the tournament, will be smiling. "I'm a pretty happy guy most of the time," he said. "It's a good feeling to have performed well in an international spotlight."