Will Ferrell, aka Ron Burgundy, joined TSN for Canadian Curling Trials opener

By Scott Edmonds, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG – It may be all to promote his new movie but actor Will Ferrell delighted curling fans Sunday, and a few curlers as well, as he brought anchorman Ron Burgundy to the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.

He even tried his luck on the ice, with a little tutoring from Ontario skip Glenn Howard, and then donned a kilt.

“I’m really enjoying Winnipeg, the Paris of Canada,” he said later, staying in character for the entire visit.

“The limo ride from the airport was first class all the way. They had roast pig for me. An entire roasted pig there in the limo.”

As for curling jargon, he said he knows what “hurry hard” means but uses it mostly to get the driver in front to start moving.

Ferrell is promoting “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” set for release this month before Christmas. Saturday night he stopped in Bismarck, N.D., to do a local news program.

But Sunday he joined TSN curling broadcaster Vic Rauter to comment on part of the opening draw of the trials, as the eight women’s teams vying for an Olympic berth squared off. The men were following later in the day at the event, which ends next Sunday.

Ferrell/Burgundy switched the pants of his wine-coloured polyester suit for a kilt before he left the MTS Centre, where the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings event is being held. Close to 11,000 fans came for the opening draw and to see Ron Burgundy.

“I think I can bring a certain amount of dignity and class, I know I smell good,” he said when asked what he brought to the table as a curling broadcaster.

He said he had a choice between curling and a knife-throwing contest in Saskatchewan.

“I took curling because curling is where my heart is. I’ve always loved curling, ever since I was a kid growing up in Hagglesworth, Iowa.

“We used to do a curling segment on the news in San Diego. No one watched it. In fact viewership plummeted 33 per cent during those times. But I stuck with it. I told our producers we’ve got to stick with curling, it’s the future.”

While it may be “the Paris of Canada” he had a somewhat unique take on the meaning of the name Winnipeg.

“It’s of course Latin in its roots. It means the small tundra bunny who lives inside the hole on the hill.”

Close. It’s Cree and means muddy water.

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