VANCOUVER, British Columbia — John Shuster fist-bumped his U.S. teammates, wished them good luck and took a seat on the bench. He watched them finally win at these Olympics, but without him belting out instructions from the other end of the ice.
"Obviously, any athlete wants to be in the game," Shuster said. "But I was giving my teammates all my support, because that's part of being a team."
Coach Phill Drobnick made the tough call Thursday night: sit down the typically reliable American curling captain for Friday's match against France.
The United States beat the French 4-3 following four straight losses — and rather than think about whether he'd be back on the ice Saturday against Sweden, Shuster said: "We're going to enjoy this win for a little while, that's for sure."
"It's just a big sigh of relief," lead John Benton said of that first win.
Could the lineup switch and cheers from NFL star Vernon Davis have been the difference?
Davis, a Pro Bowl tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, watched the match as an honorary captain. After he tried out the sport back in November and thoroughly enjoyed himself, a bond with the team was formed.
Shuster has struggled with his shot-making all tournament. Alternate Chris Plys was promoted to the skip spot and vice skip Jason Smith threw last rock.
"I was surprised to get the news," said Plys, who acknowledged he's a bit rusty because of limited practice time on the Olympic ice. "I've been where these guys are before, struggling to get that breakthrough. That's what I'm here for, to be ready to go and play. That's just what I did. It was a little hard to step on the ice and be at the top of my game."
For Plys, playing at the Olympics had special meaning.
His father, Patrick Plys, recently overcame brain cancer and has been sporting different patriotic designs painted on his bald head, all while clanging a cowbell.
Plys treated his parents to their trip here from Duluth, Minn., after earning $6,500 on the reality show "Bank of Hollywood" on the E! network. He was featured in a December episode of the show, which features celebrity judges handing out their own money.
"It was nice," Plys said. "Seeing him up there in the front row was really special, especially in a game like this where things haven't been so good. To go out there and get that win in front of them, and my aunt and uncle who flew in for one game, was a pretty neat scenario. Made the most of it."
Drobnick said the team would meet again Friday night to determine who plays Saturday.
"It was a coaching staff decision. We put what we thought was our best team forward," Drobnick said. "It's never easy being 0-4, nobody likes it. I'm really proud of the way guys came out and played today. They showed leadership, they showed control on the ice and they got a win for us."
The U.S. foursome tied it with two in the ninth after France scored a deuce in the seventh for a 3-1 lead. Smith's final throw gave the Americans three stones in the house, and France couldn't get closest at the end.
"We made a team decision to switch the lineup around," Benton said. "It wasn't easy. We had to talk through it. We all showed up today as a team and I'm really proud of how we played, No. 1. No. 2, the way everybody came together. It's a really good team, and I mean that in the deepest sense of the word team."
USA Curling chief operating officer Rick Patzke said he supported Drobnick's decision. The team agreed last fall to several lineup scenarios in case a change was necessary during the Olympics based on performance or other circumstances, Patzke said.
"It's not unprecedented," he said.
In fact, the Russian women switched skips in their loss to the Americans on Friday morning.
The 27-year-old Shuster brought home a bronze medal in 2006 for the Americans' first in an Olympics and first in a major competition since 1978.
"He definitely wants to be out there," U.S. second Jeff Isaacson said. "It was not an easy conversation for any of us."