The Jamaican Bobsled Team

Author's Rating:

Pros: Their determination.

Cons: The attitudes of their opponents and the world around them.

The Bottom Line: 
Cool Runnings is a really good movie.

Author's Review
“I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on. In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter.”
- Michael Ventre L.A. Daily News

Bobsledding is a winter sport that was first invented in the late 1800s. It is a sport in which teams compete using bobsleds to make the quickest runs down iced, narrow routes that seem much like roller coaster runs, minus the upside down portions. The track in which they run are about 1200 to 1300 meters long and have at least fifteen curves.

Cool Runnings was a 1993 comedy movie based on the very first Jamaican bobsled team with a few twists and turns. It was directed by Jon Turteltaub. The movie featured a 4-member team as opposed to the real life Jamaican Bobsled team which consisted of 5 members with different names than the actual crew. The first members of the Jamaican bobsled team were Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Aiden Van de Mortel, Michael White, and Samuel Clayton. They first gained recognition when they debuted in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta. Their coach was a New York native named Howard Siler.

A bobsled crew is made up of a team each with an individual job. In the 98 minute movie, Derice Bannock (Leon) played the pilot, Sanka (Doug E. Doug) played the brakeman, and Yul Brenner (Malik Yoba) and Junior Bevil (Rawle Lewis) played the two pushers. It all started when Leon, Yul Brenner and Junior all competed to gain a slot in the Olympics for Track & Field. Despite their speed and stamina on the field, circumstances had it that their opportunity was stripped from them .

Derice still felt that he wanted an opportunity to get into the Olympics. Then he comes into knowledge about a double gold medallist named Irv Blitzer (John Candy). Irv was a champion bobsledder who cheated to get his good fame that in turn awarded him ill-fame. When Derice learns that bobsledding involves many aspects of running as well, he becomes very interested. Sanka also being a push-cart driver comes in with him to gain the unlikely interest of Irv. Derice and Sanka approach him about getting back into the bobsledding thing and in a turn of events, gain his acceptance.

In an effort to try to redeem his name, Irv holds auditions for athletes interested in trying to do something beyond what they have already mastered. Athletes are usually selected based on their will power, speed and strength. There, all who were interested gained the knowledge of what their sweet responsibilities would be and the creative challenges that they would have to face.

“A player who conjugates a verb in the first person singular cannot be part of the squad, he has to conjugate the verb in the first person plural. We. We want to conquer. We are going to conquer. Using the word "I" when you're in a group makes things complicated.”
- Wanderley Luxemburgo, 1999

With the new found wisdom that those interested in joining the first Jamaican Boblsed team and knowing it would require of them to live daringly, boldly, fearlessly and to be forced to taste the relish found in competition scared off a lot of people. Yet still a team was formed with the very hopeful runner Derice, his best friend and push-cart driver Sanka Coffie, the sprinter Yul Brenner and the rich Junior Bevil. They had their ups and downs as a team, but they were indeed a team that grew with all the hard work they were forced to put in.

Derice was a very fast runner who raised eyebrows based on his speed and his character. He was very strong minded and noble. He was willing to work hard to sweep away all obstacles. Irv chose him as the bobsled driver because he was the most responsible and the one who seemed to persevere the most. It kind of made Sanka a little disappointed but when Irv put the bug in his ear about the responsibility the driver of 4 had to face, Sanka was alright with it. Sanka was the one with the clownish behavior. He was emotionally immature but really good at heart. He knew who he was and knew where he was going. He worked just as hard as the others but was also the one who liked to have fun and could make viewers really laugh.

Yul Brenner was the player with the attitude about life. He wanted to go to the Olympics so he could get off of the “stinken island of Jamaica.” He sure was a fast runner but was furious at the other member Junior Bevil who fell at the running competition that denied him the slot at the Olympics in the track & field division. Junior has plans in which he would like to see come true but is more interested in doing what his parents feel is right for him. That is until the team finds out they have no backing and have to hustle for the bucks to fund the trip. The team together does fundraisers but Junior sells his car and brings in a lot of money to get the team to Calgary. Junior is also the one who takes the risk of leaving and going to Calgary but lies to his father about his whereabouts taking risks to do what is in his heart.

“Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.”
- Josh Billings

In the book of Matthew 25 in the King James Version of the Bible, Jesus gave to three different individuals a form of payment they call talents. To 1, he gave 5. To another, he gave 3. And to another he gave 1. The person he gave 5 to, traded them up and increased it to 10. The person he gave the 3 to, traded them up and increased it to 6. But the person he gave 1 to hid it in the earth and never used it. When he came back to see what became of the talents, to the ones that increased the talents, he said you have been faithful over a few things so you can be a ruler over many things and said to them well done good and faithful servant. But to the person that hid his talent in the world, he said to him that he is condemned for failure. With all the obstacles the Jamaican Bobsled Team had to face, they could have easily given up. But they kept the faith and did what they had to do to try to make it happen according to God’s plan.

Cool Runnings sure is an intriguing story. It was a very inspirational story with a message to march on to the higher calling. It was all about team spirit and confidence to keep them alive as a team. But what the Jamaican Bobsled team thought was an opportunity in the making was what the world seemed to be laughing hard in their face acting like player haters. People always try to bring you down when you are doing something good. The world might have been saying, "Give up," but hope answered back and told them to "Keep Trying." And they continued to persevere and use what was in them to make it work.

Their main goals as a team was to try to do the best that they could. Irv sure pushed them hard having them practice and work. As a bobsled team, they had to use their promising Running skills to begin from a standing start, with the crew pushing the sled for up to fifty metres before boarding. In order to make it into the Olympics, they had to make it to the finish line in under 1 minute. And they did it and they made it and made a lot of people mad, including Junior’s father when he found out what Junior was really up to.

What becomes of a team of Jamaican Bobledders that leave from an environment with a climate that is always hot to a place with ice and snow and frigid weather? Does Yul Brenner ever change his attitude? How far does the first Jamaican bobsled team really go with everybody in their face trying to discourage them from finishing the race? They might have gotten some people made but they gained a lot of interest overall. Find out how far they can go. It is a race you will never forget. And boy will it have you laughing. Cool Runnings is a really good movie.


Resources

1. http://www.quotegarden.com/perseverance.html
2. http://www.quotegarden.com/sports.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobsled
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Bobsled_Team
5. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025;&version=9;