GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — If the Korean women's curling team thought winning an Olympic silver medal was fun, wait until they get their mobile phones back.
The "Garlic Girls" who sparked a national phenomenon in the quirky sport with the sweeping and the shouting lost to Sweden 8-3 in Sunday's Olympic final, a result that only slightly diminished the excitement in the host country.
The hubbub was so great , in fact, that their coach took away their cellphones to shield them from any pressure that might come from all the attention in a country that had no real curling tradition before being selected to host the 2018 Winter Games.