When it comes to certain voices synonymous with sports, there may be none quite like TSN announcer Vic Rauter and curling.
The Canadian broadcasting legend has been the voice of curling on TSN for decades, calling the biggest events north of the border like the Brier, Scotties, and various world championships.
However, earlier this week Rauter announced that he would hang up the microphone. The 71 year-old has called every single men’s and women’s Canadian curling championship since 1986 except for one year when CBC had the rights. But this weekend’s men’s world championship will be his final event in the broadcast booth. Fittingly, his last call will be Team Canada facing off against Sweden for the gold. He posted on social media on April 2 simply “its time.”
Rauter has one of the most distinctive voices in North America and called a number of sports for TSN. But he was most known as the voice of curling for four decades. His trademark closing call of “make the final” is an iconic part of the Canadian lexicon.
But Vic Rauter was much more than a curling announcer. He had a great sense of humor and dry wit and had many memorable moments from welcoming Ron Burgundy to the broadcast booth to covering things like ice fishing and sheep shearing. TSN pulled together a collection of best moments in a Top 10 tribute to his remarkable career.
Curling has been one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics stateside for the past several Olympic cycles. But it’s a different way of life in Canada where it’s one of the most popular sports in the country. And curling fans across the Great White North and beyond are certainly going to miss hearing Vic Rauter at the mic in the years to come.
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