There is something uniquely Scottish about putting your heart and soul into something, coming up just short, and somehow making the whole country proud in the process. Bruce Mouat’s rink did exactly that at the Winter Olympics.
The Scottish quartet had hoped to become the first British men’s rink in over a century to win Olympic gold, but Canada proved too strong in the final. Silver again, after Beijing four years ago. The disappointment was written all over Mouat’s face. “Very disappointed” were his words, which for a man from Edinburgh roughly translates to devastated.
Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan make up the rest of the rink. McMillan and Hardie are cousins from Stranraer, Lammie from the same area. This is a team built on Dumfries and Galloway granite.
The real legacy, though, is what happens next. At Mouat’s former club in Edinburgh, young curlers were glued to their screens. Paul Davis, their coach, told STV News: “When the kids see them on the TV, it’s a huge inspiration for all the curlers. They are role models, and it is fantastic.”
Davis added that Mouat would be visiting in the coming weeks to show the youngsters the silver medal. I think that says more about the man’s character than any medal ever could.
Whether Team Mouat goes for a third attempt at the next Games is anyone’s guess. But the seeds they have planted in Scotland’s ice rinks will grow long after the Olympic flame is extinguished.