Gushue Girls ready to rock home ice advantage at national curling tournament in St. John's

When Team Gushue takes to the ice for the Kioti National curling tournament in St. John's this week, they'll be cheered on by thousands of hometown fans.

But one group of superfans, who have been making a household name for themselves, will stand out.

Gander's "Gushue Girls" have been following the Gushue Rink since 2016. Their pink shirts, with letters spelling out Gushue's name, draw the eyes of fans both in the building and watching from home.

"Brad Gushue is the best curler in the world," Nancy Dawe told CBC Radio's Weekend AM. 

"We watch their every move and we just hang on tight and see what's going to happen."

Jeanne Collins, a fellow Gushue Girl, said the Mary Brown's Centre will be filled with intense supporters in the next few days.

"These curling fans, they're really into it. They follow curling all the time," said Collins. "Brad Gushue is a huge, huge drawing card for fans, particularly the women. I mean, they just adore him."

The Gushue Girls have also racked up their own following from their numerous trips to support Team Gushue outside of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"People come up to us and say, you know, 'We're from Ontario, but we're really cheering for Brad Gushue. We just love him.' So that's a riot," said Collins.

The Kioti National runs from Tuesday to Sunday. It'll feature 32 of the world's best men's and women's teams.

Dawe believes the men's tournament will come down to Team Gushue and Team Mouat — skipped by Bruce Mouat of Scotland —  but having a home crowd cheering for Gushue will give the club the extra boost its needs to win it all.

Collins said she thinks the team is experienced enough that performing at home won't undermine them.

"I think at this point that the Gushue Team is beyond the nerves factor. I think the crowd is just going to energize them and maybe give them that extra push to come out on top this time," she said.

Both Collins and Dawe said they've come to terms with the addition of former Alberta skip Brendan Bottcher to the Gushue Rink. The move was announced in October.

"Brendan Bottcher was a former rival, an archrival indeed. And at first, like everybody else, we were a little bit, you know, concerned and wondering how this was going to work out," said Collins.

After watching how he plays with his new team, she said she's impressed with how well he's fitting in.

Story of friendship

The Gushue Girls have been friends for decades and curl together regularly.

The 2016 Brier in Ottawa was their first group's trip to see the Gushue Rink play. 

"And it turned out there were six of us, six letters in Gushue, and that was how we were born," said Collins.

The Gushue Girls roster also includes Alice McCarthy, Lorna O'Reilly, Betty Hansen and Cindy May.

The group has been all over Canada in support of Gushue, including Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. They've even met Team Gushue but say they don't like to disturb the athletes while they're focused on the tournament.

"They're so intense on their competition that, you know, we don't like to intrude on that," said Collins.

Dawe added the team appreciates the Gushue Girls presence in the stands, too.

"They're just very down to earth gentlemen, I have to say that. And they are most appreciative to look up in the stands and see us girls up there just cheering our hearts out."

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