Curling's Sampson brothers dream of Olympics, but not 2014

Edmore, the tiny North Dakota town where curlers Owen and Ned Sampson farm, is so remote that a book on its history is subtitled Tales Beyond No Man's Land.

Like so many upper Midwest farming communities, Edmore has withered like a failed crop. Its 182 residents are 74 fewer than the 2000 census counted. Small farmers and shopkeepers have fled. And among the 16 members of Edmore High's Class of 1990, only Owen remains.

The curling rink where their father, Clark, a member of the 1971 national championship team, learned the sport has disappeared, too. Now his sons must travel 50 miles to Grafton or 41 miles to Devil's Lake to curl. And with 447 acres of wheat and soybeans to plant, nurture, and harvest, the sunup-to-sundown days don't leave much time for that.

But the Sampson brothers still dream big. They hope one day to qualify for an Olympic team, and they came to these 2012 USA Curling national championships to give it another try.

The 11th seed among the 11 men's teams at the IceWorks in Aston, Team Sampson began the round-robin competition in stunning fashion, upsetting the No. 1 seed in its opening match. But by early Wednesday, when it was thumped by Team Shuster, Team Sampson hadn't won again.

With a 1-6 record, the team won't get one of the two 2014 Olympic trials berths to be awarded when this eight-day event closes with semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday.

"We had a letdown the game after we beat the top seed," said Owen, 40, who does most of the talking for himself and 35-year-old Ned. "We had a couple of games where we didn't play very well and lost by quite a bit. Then we had some close games where we were just a couple of shots from winning. [Wednesday] morning we didn't click at all."

The closest Team Sampson - which also includes two other North Dakotans, Tucker Smith of Bismarck and Kyle Young of Fargo - has come to an Olympics was when it qualified for the 2006 trials.

"It won't happen this time, either," said Owen, the team's skip [the one who actually slides the stone down ice]. "But getting to an Olympics is still our goal. This is our fourth nationals, and hopefully, we'll be back for 2013's [in Green Bay]."

The team members will play their final matches Thursday, spend a few days sightseeing in Philadelphia, then return to Edmore on Sunday. Soon it will be time for spring planting, which means little time for curling practice.

"We're usually up at 6 and we work until the sun goes down," said Ned, the third sweeper. "In the winter, after the harvests, we'll have some time for curling."

It was easier for their dad, Carl. When he was coming up, Edmore and many of the other tiny North Dakota towns that aren't too far removed from the border with curling-crazed Canada had their own facilities.

"But all these small towns have really shrunk and the clubs have closed," Owen said. "The populations have gotten so small there aren't enough people to keep them going. Dad said they used to be able to curl every weekend and never have to get a hotel room. Now most of the time you need a hotel room because you have to travel that far."

The Sampson brothers, who have two sisters, and their father work the northeast North Dakota farm that their great-grandfather homesteaded more than 100 years ago.

"We have lots of big equipment," Owen said. "Four hundred and forty-seven acres might seem big to you, but really it's about the average size for a farm out there."

The brothers had even less time for curling than usual in recent years when their father fell ill with a liver ailment. But a portion of Ned's liver was removed and transplanted into Carl. Now the elder Sampson is back performing most of the farm's familiar rituals.

It was Carl who introduced them to the ice sport when they were young and drove them to weekend competitions in Grand Forks, Bismarck, and elsewhere.

"We love it," Owen said, "especially the competition. In curling, everyone is your friend."

And while they can't get to the rink as often as they'd like, the brothers train regularly and make it a point to stretch whatever muscles their busy farm routine doesn't hone.

"People don't realize it," Owen said, "but you really need stamina to curl. These matches last 21/2 hours, sometimes longer. And sometimes we're playing 10 matches in a week. The sweepers [who vigorously smooth the ice on every toss] in particular really have to be in good shape."

Unlike so many of their friends and classmates who became part of the state's ongoing brain drain, Owen and Ned always knew they wanted to farm. The curling provides a welcome respite from the day-to-day drudgery.

"We were exposed to it [farming] so much that we knew exactly what we were getting into," Owen said. "It's an awful lot of hard work but we enjoy it."

They could say the same about curling.

And if the ice ever yields them a harvest as fruitful as the soil, the Sampson brothers might be the nation's happiest Olympians.

"The Olympics," Owen said, the prospect infusing his voice with wonder. "Wow, wouldn't that be something?"