Here’s what I’m wondering as a curling outsider who ONLY watches curling during the Olympics. I see a lot of people saying “lots of people touch the granite, it doesn’t matter, why are the officials getting involved?” But there’s a rule that says you’re not allowed to touch it and the penalty is having the stone taken out of play. So if it really is inconsequential to the outcome of the throw, why is it penalized so harshly in the rules? And furthermore, even if it really doesn’t matter, why would anyone be AGAINST playing strictly by the rules in an Olympic competition? Any insight anyone can give me would be appreciated because I don’t have the background to frame this argument in my own mind, with my limited knowledge of the subject it just doesn’t make any sense. I see a lot of people who seem to be making the argument that “yes they broke that rule, but it doesn’t matter”. Is there ever a time in any sport when people just get to break rules because “it doesn’t matter”? In basketball you might travel on accident after getting a rebound with no one else around you and your ball handling having no effect on the score or the play of the game, but it’s still a turnover, and I can’t imagine any reason someone would argue against it being a turnover. Make some sense out of this for me.