How it unfolded
Kevin Martin's Canada went 9-0 through the round robin. With John Morris at third, Marc Kennedy at second and Ben Hebert at lead, this lineup had already won the 2008 world title and two Briers with near-perfect records. Their final opponent was Thomas Ulsrud's Norway, whose brightly patterned diamond trousers had made headlines all tournament, with Torger Nergård, Christoffer Svae and Håvard Vad Petersson alongside him. Norway hung on throughout: Petersson posted a 97.5 percent shooting accuracy in this final, but Canada kept cleaning up the house at the key moments, and led 6-3 heading into the tenth end, at which point Norway conceded. Canada finished the tournament 11-0. This was Olympic curling's first undefeated gold medal since Great Britain's in Chamonix in 1924.
Why it still matters
A flawless gold medal run on home ice pushed Canadian television ratings for this event past every prior record. At the same time, the attention Norway's trousers generated showed how curling could sell to a non-curling audience once every four years. Martin's undefeated run was repeated four years later at Sochi by Jennifer Jones' Canadian women's team, also 11-0.