Cool Runnings 2: Jamaican Bobsled Team Crowdfunding Their Way To Sochi [UPDATED]
But who will play John Candy?!
They walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican – and they sure as hell bobsled Jamaican. Yes, Cool Runnings fans, the Jamaican bobsled team has finally is bringing back the glory days, and has qualified for the Sochi Winter Olympics! Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot of money to get them there – and that’s where you come in.
[UPDATE: They team has posted their IndieGogo page! You can donate right here! Or head over to their Crowdtilt page and donate here. Both are managed by the official Jamaican Olympic team.]
The Jamaican team has qualified in bobsled a handful of times since the events that inspired Cool Runnings in 1988, but they’ve been down and out since their last qualification in 2002. Winston Watts, the man behind the team’s resurgence, is incredibly proud of their new accomplishment – and has actually taken to calling them “Cool Runnings – The Second Generation.”
#BREAKING: Jamaica’s 2 man Bobsled qualified for Winter Olympics in Sochi . CONGRATULATIONS!!!! #JamaicaBobsled pic.twitter.com/Ns1nnhqn9b
— Team Jamaica (@JamaicaOlympics) January 18, 2014
Sadly, money is proving to be a setback – and I don’t think Junior can just sell his car this time. Watts has already given over $160,000 of his own dollars in support of the team, but they need another $80,000 to get to Russia for the games. They’ve been accepting money through PayPal until now, but with all the attention their qualification has brought (#CoolRunnings has been trending on Twitter all day), the team is setting up a Crowdfunding account so you can donate directly and easily. Because obviously you are going to it’s Cool Runnings 2.
A crowdfunding account has been created which in which donations will be sent directly to the Jamaica #Bobsleigh Federation @iammobilebob
— Team Jamaica (@JamaicaOlympics) January 19, 2014
Info about this #TeamJamaica crowdfunding will be posted shortly. Again, donations will go directly to #JamaicaBobsleigh Federation Paypal
— Team Jamaica (@JamaicaOlympics) January 19, 2014
The team has been posting video diaries of their journey to qualify for the Winter Olympics. Here’s the latest, where they’re stoked about finally being able to sleep in, and are just generally incredibly likeable:
Don’t worry, sled gods, we’ll update here with the crowdsource info when we have it.
(via The Verge, image via Getty)
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