3 Reasons Cool Runnings Is Mostly Made Up (And Why It Doesn't Matter)

3. The Coach

After starring in Planes, Trains, And Automobiles, and Uncle Buck, John Candy was the only choice for the disgraced but loveable bobsleigh coach Irving "Irv" Blitzer. In reality however, there was no such single character. Instead it was the pair of Americans George Fitch and William Maloney who noticed the similarities between Bobsleigh and Push Kart derbys, and like Irv also believed that sprinters would make excellent bobsledders due to the importance of the running push start. So far so good, but the similarities don't go much further. Fitch and Maloney may have got the bobsleigh rolling, but left the training to a qualified expert in the shape of Howard Siler. Like Irv, Siler may have been a former American bobsledder, but it is Irv's fall from grace in which he, his team mates, and his country were stripped of their Gold medals that is his most discerning feature. Disqualified for making the sleigh heavier and unfairly faster Irv quickly made enemies both on and off the course, and who still hold a powerful grudge many years later. But one quick look through the history books will reveal that the US hadn't won any bobsleigh medal, in either the four or two-man event, in over thirty years. They were also allowed to keep their previous four-man Golds from 1928, '32 and '48. Despite being one of the biggest fabrications, it is this aspect of the movie that is also the most understandable addition. The Olympics are the most celebrated and competitive events in the sporting world, and it is through Irv's desire to win at all costs that the film can revel in the true spirit of those games. Whether debating with the (also fictional) governing body of the sport, or imparting wisdom to his protégée, it is only through the hindsight of his own mistakes that we believe Irv when he explains that "A gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without one, you'll never be enough with one"