Be proud, Minnesota. The five Olympic curlers from Bemidji and Chisholm won a bronze in the 2006 Torino Games.

Sure, curling isn’t your usual sport. Some even argue that it’s not a sport.

But to us, curling is cool. Curling requires precision, care and good aim. It isn’t a sport about brute force or dizzying grace, but the tension that builds on the ice can be greater than most sports. It is a thinking, high-performance game, and it uses muscles, just in a different way. If bowling is a sport, surely curling is too. And bowling isn’t in the Olympic Games.

Most of all, we like curling because the athletes are our neighbors and your neighbors. They are folks from around the corner and down the block. They hold regular jobs and know what a hard-earned buck means. They’re approachable.

In fact, despite a lackluster Torino Games, the world is buzzing about curling more than ever. Of all the Olympic winter sports, none came of out the games looking better than curling.

So the boys from Bemidji won bronze medals &045; not bad for a team no one thought would go far. The Canadians, Germans, Swiss and teams from Scandinavia generally dominate international competition. Canada struck gold, Finland silver in the men’s. For women, Sweden won gold, Switzerland silver and Canada bronze.

Good job, Minnesotans Pete Fenson, 37, Joe Polo, 23, John Shuster, 23, Shawn Rojeski, 34, and alternate Scott Baird, 54. You were our highlight of these Games.