They ran the table. And gold was waiting for them at the end.
Team USA finished one of the most unlikely runs in recent Olympic memory with a 10-7 win over Sweden in the men's curling gold medal match at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, a feat immediately dubbed the "Miracurl on Ice."
The squad turned around a 2-4 start to round-robin play with five straight wins in their final five curling matches, including Saturday's final.
PHOTOS: American curlers stun the world, take home gold medal
That final match was a 5-5 tie entering the eighth end (much like a baseball inning) with Team USA having the final shot and a chance at the equivalent of a grand slam home run. Skipper John Shuster threaded the needle for a perfect shot to take two Sweden stones out of the scoring range and give America five scoring stones, creating a virtually insurmountable 10-5 lead.
Shuster's journey of Olympic bronze in 2006, followed by failure in 2010 and 2014 and eventual removal from the U.S. team, was one of high emotion. It was his perfect-when-it-had-to-be shot that defeated Canada in the preliminaries and kept America alive, followed by his cathartic tears in an interview with NBC Sports.
Team USA's Matt Hamilton also grew into a bit of a cult star with his mustacheoed presence that helped draw the viral support for this team of everyone from Aaron Rodgers...
Win. #powerofthestash https://t.co/UTLIKPaKpA
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) February 24, 2018
...to Mr. T.
Congratulations USA @TeamShuster we did it! John shuster, Tyler George, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner and Joe Polo. Magnificent, I’m so proud of you guys! #Curling #CurlingNightInAmerica #curlingiscoolfool #teamusa #usacurling
— Mr. T (@MrT) February 24, 2018
