VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Yes, there's heckling in curling.

The stands have been packed and the crowds raucous at the Vancouver Olympics, and it can only get louder with Canada playing in the men's final Saturday.

"From an athlete's point of view, it's fun," Canadian skip Kevin Martin said. "It's fun to be part of and to have the crowd into it for 12 days or whatever it's been. It really gets the blood pumping for the athletes."

Martin's team faces Norway in the gold-medal game. The Norwegians have become fan favorites here with their outlandish diamond-print pants — though not against the home team.

Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud was hoping King Harald V would show up wearing the pants for the final. But he said Friday night he hadn't heard anything yet.

"I thought he was my buddy, but turns out he may not be," Ulsrud said with a smile.

Ulsrud might want to prepare to hear his name chanted mockingly from the stands, as Sweden skip Anette Norberg did during her team's win over Canada in the women's final Friday.

Norway is up against more than thousands of rowdy fans. Canada is the defending champion and is in position to become the first team to go undefeated since curling was reinstated as a medal sport in 1998. And add in sentiment to dominant: A win would give an elusive gold medal to the 43-year-old skip Martin.

Norway won Olympic gold by an inch in 2002, against a Canada team with Martin as its skip. Martin didn't make the 2006 team that triumphed in Turin.

In contrast to the Norwegians' gaudy, multihued slacks is the sleek, black bobsled driven by American Steve Holcomb. On Saturday he could win the first four-man gold medal for the United States in 62 years.

Holcomb and his teammates in USA-1, better known as "The Night Train," are in first place halfway through the competition, with the final two runs scheduled for Saturday.

The Americans have a chance at two unexpected medals in speedskating Saturday in the team pursuit, as two veterans heading into retirement look to add to their medal collections. The men face Canada in the final, with 32-year-old Chad Hedrick guaranteed a fifth career medal. And Jennifer Rodriguez could earn her third career medal at 33 as the women take on Germany in the semifinals. Even with a loss, they'll have a chance at bronze against Japan or Poland.