Hans Madsen’s pregame ritual is a little different than most.
Before every curling draw at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Madsen, 70, spends about an hour grooming, shaping and spray painting his beard. Then he picks out a wig.
“I have almost 700 wigs: multi-colours, mixed colours, half-and-halfs,” said Madsen, adding he has $400 worth of paint that he brought just for the Scotties.
Known as “Yorkton’s bearded fan,” Madsen dresses up in different team colours or sponsorship logos at all the curling events he attends.
“They’re different every game,” he said. “At least not in the same season anyways.”
It all started with his love of football. Living in Saskatchewan, Madsen would decorate his beard in green and white for all the Roughrider games.
But in 2011, the fanfare spilled over to curling.
Originally from Denmark, Madsen thought it would be a good idea if he and his wife travelled to the country to cheer on Amber Holland and Team Canada at the curling world championship.
“He put a bit of red paint in his beard and he said, ‘we’ll try it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll wash it out,’” said his wife Judy.
Needless to say, the beard was a hit. Now, Madsen and Judy travel the globe to watch curling.
They’ve been to China, Japan, Latvia and across Canada, experiencing provincials, Scotties, world championships and Grand Slams.
“It feels like you’re going to a family or cousins reunion,” Madsen said. “It’s all people that you’ve met before and seen before and cheered on before.”
The couple doesn’t have a T.V. at home, but Madsen said they catch “99 per cent of the curling games” because they watch them live.
But Madsen’s costumes mean the couple has to jump through a few extra hoops to get to the events.
“We usually take one extra suitcase for his wigs,” Judy said. “We have people who ship [the paint] around for us because we can’t take it on the plane anymore.”
No matter the hassle, it’s worth it for Madsen.
Three years ago, he was given just three months to live after being diagnosed with stage four melanoma.
“You have a good time there. You make yourself feel good and you make other people feel good and that’s all part of it,” Madsen said. “That’s probably part of why I can beat this disease that I have.”
“If you can make a few people smile that makes it more enjoyable,” Madsen said.
And those smiles will continue well after the Scotties.
Once Team Canada is crowned, Madsen will go back to the drawing board to brainstorm beard designs for the women’s world championship in Prince George, B.C.
“We decorate for Team Canada but we also decorate for all the other countries, too,” Madsen said. “We cheer for all the teams. We cheer for all the best shots.”