The Brier

 

2023 Tim Hortons Brier
    This major sporting event is taking place in London, Ontario as I type. Before it is completed, it is likely that over 250,000 fans from all over Canada will have braved snowy weather to attend The Brier. "All over" does mean that; one of the first teams to win this year is from Nunavut.
    My Canadian friends will know more than I about what I think I am going to write, so they can get back to watching "The Brier."
   The sport involved is curling, which even my American readers will know about, since they have likely made fun of it. Tim Hortons is the sponsor, but the company does not appear to be too possessive of The Brier, since an ' is not found in the name of the event. Tim Hortons, is Canada's version of Dunkin' Donuts, although it is not a Canadian company. The founder of the company was the hockey player, Tim Horton who probably curled. 
   I know nothing about curling, although I was once tempted to learn about the sport because apparently the winners of a curling event buy the losers beer. I am only wasting our time because of the word "brier." All of this talk about "The Brier" got me wondering what "brier" actually means. 
   "Brier" typically refers to a type of wood used in making pipes and it also refers to a type of tobacco that was sold by the Macdonald Tobacco Company which was founded in Montreal. Macdonald Tobacco started sponsoring the tournament back in 1927 and did so for many years and the teams competed for the Brier Tankard. 

The Good News
   Although "The Brier" has brought lots of people who are not homeless into downtown London, it has not yet attracted any protestors. Given that The Brier is associated with a tobacco company it is surprising that the language police have not called for its erasure, particularly since Macdonald was of Scottish heritage and a Scottish lass appears on one of the Macdonald tins I did not show. A former prime minister named "Macdonald" is now persona non grata.
  Let us hope that those who are easily upset and even injured by words and images do not discover the pajamas on sale as Brier merch.

Sources: 
   If you are really interested in curling see, Curling Canada. 

   For the history of The Brier.