Vernon Davis honourary curling coach

[CanadianCat]

VANCOUVER - If curling was a physical sport, the U.S. men's team might be in the hunt for a gold medal rather than struggling at the bottom of the pack.

On Friday, Vernon Davis, the team's honourary coach and San Francisco 49er's Pro Bowl tight end, arrived to see if he could buoy the hopes of the 0-4 squad.

The 6-3, 253-pound Davis was given his position after he agreed to give curling a try in San Francisco and fell in love with the sport.

As big and athletic as he is, he wasn't prepared for the demands of curling.

"I was surprised," said Davis, who agreed to help out the United States Curling Association after his experience. "It requires a lot of balance, accuracy."

Davis, who paid his own way to Vancouver and received only some Olympic clothing and a few tickets as compensation for his duties, was excited to see his first live curling game at an elite level. He said he's been following the American team's struggles on TV so far and was hoping his presence might help their cause.

"I will be amazed," he said of what he was expecting to see. "I've been watching it on TV so I'm pretty caught up on what's been going on and how things are going out there. They've had some tough times but the thing with them, they're going to have to bounce back and continue to fight. "

The winless American team juggled its lineup before the start of their match with France, taking the drastic step of sitting skip John Shuster and bringing in fifth player Chris Plys. When asked if he was ready to slip on the slider should the team make more changes, he was gung-ho.

"Oh ya, I'd go in," he said enthusiastically. "I'll be ready."

For now, Davis will stay on the sidelines but believes he can help the team out in other ways.

"I can relate to them and speak to them in a way that our coach would speak to us," he said

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/curling/news/newsid=46794.html?cid=rsstsn