Home Folk Applaud Browning

Copyright 1994 Southam Inc.

A young man in a black Stetson moseyed into the Kurt Browning Arena Sunday evening, and cast a hungry eye at the barbecue.

"When's dinner?" asked Kurt Browning, home for an all-too-rare reunion with 1,100 close friends.

As the four-time world figure-skating champion worked his way through the crowd, retired nurse Florence (Sunny) Sundberg offered him her last hot dog.

"That's all I had to give him," she said. "He's a very nice boy."

Sunny and an arena crammed with rural Albertans would have given Browning anything he wanted. He's their boy, one of the home folks, and they made sure the message came through loud and clear.

Dancers, fiddlers, singers, poets and politicians - including Premier Ralph Klein - paid tribute in their turn.

"It's just a night to reminisce," said Caroline's Alice Murray, who organized the barbecue and barn dance on behalf of Caroline and Rocky Mountain House.

"He's a wonderful role model. This is not about winning or losing. It's about who he is," she said.

When Browning fell during his technical program in Lillehammer, Norway, last February, it killed his chances for a long-sought medal during his third Winter Olympics. It also prompted an outpouring of sympathy and affection which reached across the entire country.

"When he apologized (for falling) on TV, I just cried," said Murray.

And when fans in Nova Scotia launched a national drive to create their own, home-made, gold medal in appreciation of his efforts, Caroline's Yvonne Michalsky got into the act.

She donated four gold bracelets - one each for herself, two daughters and a daughter-in-law.

"All his accomplishments, and he'll never change," said Michalsky. "He's proud of where he came from."

Browning's one-time hockey coach and Grade 5 teacher came to the Caroline whoop-up wearing the leather jacket Browning put on during the 1992 world championships.

"He wore this jacket in '92, when he came out for his free skate," remembered Len McLean. "I phoned up his dad, and said, 'I want that coat.' His dad said, 'It's gonna cost you'. "But I didn't know how much," McLean laughed.

"He's never, never put on any airs. He's the same crazy guy I knew a long time ago," said McLean, who paid $ 2,300 for the prize, outbidding Edmonton Oilers' goaltender Bill Ranford during an auction.

Proceeds paid for construction of Kurt's Korner, a vast Browning trophy case - it includes his first pair of figure skates - on the arena mezzanine.

Reuniting with family and friends during a lull in his tour with Sunlife Stars on Ice, it was a chance for Browning to let down his hair among those he knows best - such as childhood friend Chris Moffatt, who introduced Browning to his nine-day-old son, David.

"I've only got eight hours," said Browning, who is now retired from amateur skating.

"It's the only chance we've got to get together. It's always too short. I'm here to meet some friends and have some fun."

So was Caroline figure-skater Kimberley Hurt, 12, who said she's met Browning "lots of times. He usually tells me to have fun, and smile lots."