UPDATE 3-Olympics-Curling-'Old Bear' Martin claws back pride

* Sold-out crowd broke into Canada's national anthem

* Win gives Canada 13th gold medal of Vancouver Games (Adds quotes)

By Jeffrey Jones

VANCOUVER, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Canada, heralded now as "one of the best teams in the history of curling", swept aside Norway to take men's gold, topping off an unprecedented Olympic unbeaten streak in the competition.

They also salvaged the country's pride into the bargain after the Canadian women lost the night before.

The Canadians led by Kevin Martin, who came to Vancouver as the favoured team and played like men on a mission throughout the tournament, beat the Norwegians 6-3 and always looked comfortable.

It was a sweet win for Martin, curling's 43-year-old "Old Bear", who narrowly lost the gold in Salt Lake City to a different Norwegian team.

"It's an amazing feeling and it will only get better and better as the day goes on and as it sinks in," Martin said after the victory.

When the sold-out crowd sensed Martin had sealed the deal by the last end, they broke into Canada's national anthem, a practice initiated earlier in the competition during a game when Britain was threatening to beat the home team.

No other curling team has swept an Olympic tournament since the sport regained medal status in 1998. Virtually all other competitors had said the Canadians, who also include Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and John Morris, were the ones to beat.

"We probably played one of the best teams in the history of curling here today," said Norwegian coach Pal Trulsen, who was the skip to whom Martin lost in 2002.

FEW SCARES

Martin said he did not see his squad's success as vindication for his disappointment eight years ago but stressed all along he aimed to take one more step up the podium.

Canada won gold in 2006 but Martin's team did not compete.

The Norwegians, whose gaudy, diamond-print trousers were the subject of almost more talk than their play, provided few scares for Canada during the game. Skip Thomas Ulsrud missed a few shots early on, allowing Canada to steal points.

"It's gone," Ulsrud said. "I thought we could never lose in these pants but those guys played brilliantly today."

Despite the loss, the silver medal-winners were pleased with the spectacle at the Vancouver Olympic Centre, where the fans raised a mighty ruckus throughout the competition.

"It was great," Norway's Torger Nergaard said. "The crowd was great, and it's something that the Canadian boys are going to remember forever -- having the national anthem being sung by 6,000 fans. It's the best crowd we've ever played."

With the win, Canada upped its gold medal tally to 13, equalling the record for a Winter Olympic Games.

It also allowed the country to exhale after the Canadian women curlers lost what looked to be a sure gold on Friday at the hands of Sweden.

Earlier, Switzerland beat Sweden to win the bronze. (Editing by Jon Bramley; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)