Gold medal-winning curling team returns to Minnesota after Olympics

(KMSP) - After nearly an entire day's worth of travel, the men's curling team that captured Olympic gold in a historic come-from-behind victory is back on Minnesota soil. 

Team Shuster is made up of four Minnesotans and one Wisconsinite. The team is named for John Shuster, the skip on the team. Fox 9 caught up with Shuster as he met up with family at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He says it's all been a whirlwind.

"I had a really nice passenger who traded me his first class seat for my coach seat, so I got a couple more hours of extra sleep than I probably would on the flight overseas, so that was nice," said Shuster.

At the Duluth airport, the Olympics of welcome home parties awaited the group of hometown heroes.

“I think this is wonderful that so many people from Duluth came out to welcome the team back,” said Carol Holm, a Team Shuster fan.

Friends, relatives and total strangers turned out to greet Team Shuster after winning their historic gold medal at the Olympics in South Korea.

“These are the people who support and love these players this team,” said Jackie Shuster, the mother of curling player John Schuster. “We don't want to miss out on that either."

Fans waited for the team’s arrival, cheering as each passenger got off the plane until the team finally passed through the doors. As the community greeted them with open arms and open hearts, the Olympians were overcome with emotion.

“These are all the people who were around for all the work this team put in and people who have been there,” said John Shuster. “Honestly, I see a lot of faces I don't recognize, which is also ecstatic.”

After John Shuster's son led the crowd in a patriotic chant, it was time to get ready for a little rest and relaxation.

“Put [my daughter] to bed and probably put myself to bed too,” said Olympian Joe Polo, when asked what he was planning to do once he got home.

But they'll never forget their golden moment in Olympic history.

“It’s just one of those moments that will live with me for the rest of my life,” said John Shuster. “And it will probably go down in curling history for our country and I was glad I was able to do that for my team.”