In Newfoundland and Labrador, an Olympic curling bronze is still golden

With the sun not yet up over the Gushue family home in St. John's Friday morning, some of Team Gushue's biggest supporters watched the Olympic bronze-medal game with hearts overflowing with pride.

Krista Gushue's eyes filled up a little bit as she talked about what her husband said to her following Friday's win.

"The first thing he asked was, were the kids proud of him? Were they excited when he won?" she told CBC News.  

"That broke my heart because I know when they lost the game [against Sweden] Thursday, he felt like he let us down and he let the country down. I know it was really hard on him."

But he didn't have to wait long for his answer.

"Everyone started crying once he won," his daughter, 10 year-old Marissa Gushue, said.

Mark Nichols breaking down. <br><br>As he hugs Brad Gushue. <br><br>“You’re the best ever” Nichols said, fighting back tears. Gushue said the same thing. <br><br>Imagine their journey together over all these years. <br><br>This is a remarkable moment between two of the best Canadian curlers. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbccurl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cbccurl</a> <a href="https://t.co/VfekIKWYLy">pic.twitter.com/VfekIKWYLy</a>

This Olympic medal comes 16 years after the fresh-faced 20-somethings captured gold for Canada at the 2006 Olympics in Italy.

Some would argue this year's medal wasn't the result the team had hoped for. But in the end, Team Gushue added another piece of hardware to its trophy case: something the family refuses to scoff at. 

"A bronze medal at the Olympics is an amazing achievement," Krista said. 

Because of the pandemic, Brad Gushue's wife, children, parents and sister didn't get the chance to see him perform in person, but watching it on television was