By Jeffrey Jones
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Homer and Marge Simpson's foray into Olympic curling was good enough to win accolades from their U.S. team mates who watched the highly anticipated performance together at the Vancouver Games on Sunday.
Okay, maybe mixed curling is not really a demonstration event at the 2010 Games as portrayed in the episode of The Simpsons, and maybe the animated show took some artistic license with the rules.
No matter, U.S. men's team coach Phill Drobnick said laughing through the show.
"The team watched it together and we gave it two thumbs up," Drobnick said.
"They did a great job and it was reaching out to a new audience for our sport, so that's always great for us too."
Curlers had been waiting for Homer and Marge's trip to Vancouver from Springfield, one of a number of tongue-in-cheek promotions of the sport, which is sometimes viewed as a curiosity, at the Games.
In the episode, Homer and Marge stumble upon curling when searching for a date-night activity, and soon win the Olympic trials to represent the U.S. in Vancouver.
In a prophetic declaration for an Olympics that has struggled with scant snow but ample rain, Homer declares: "Pack your winter coat -- we're going to Canada's warmest city!"
After a few twists, Homer's rink takes the gold, beating a dour Swedish squad.
Drobnick offered a few pointers for their next draw.
"Maybe Homer needs to work a little bit on his touch, and maybe Marge needs to throw a few more rocks," he said. "Maybe they could go a long way in this game."
The U.S. men's team face Germany in their first Olympic game on Tuesday.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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