Watching The Brier from South Canada

It is said that, in men's curling, the biggest honor... sorry, honour.... is not to win the World Championship, but the Canadian National Championship, known as the Tim Hortons Brier, because the level of competition is higher.

That statement is less true than it used to be, but it's not entirely wrong. Recall that last year's Olympic and world champions were different teams.... from Canada.  The world champion (Kevin Koe) wasn't even strong enough in his provincial tournament to MAKE the Brier!  The silver medalist both times?  Thomas Ulsrud from Norway.  A look at the World Curling Tour standings shows that the top five teams are Canadian - two of them did NOT qualify for the Brier!

Naturally, I want to watch this tournament, despite the fact that that there are no fun pants allowed.