I think the only way that people could be unfamiliar with the Jamaican bobsleigh team is if they were living under a rock. The reason of course for that is twofold firstly, the 1988 Jamaican team was major news in the United States following the early elimination of the American team. But more likely is that you've seen the film Cool Runnings, which was a fictional take on those real life events. There hasn't been a Jamaican bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics for some 12 years now, but driver Winston Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixin managed to qualify for the two man competition after they finished 39th in the qualifying period. Only the top 30 qualified, but nine of the teams ahead of the Jamaicans couldn't take their spots as those countries had already taken their maximum number of spots. But the Jamaicans couldn't afford to go on their own. So this is where crowd sourcing, among other things, came in. They originally asked for $80,000 on indiegogo, and closed very early after securing $55,987 in a matter of days following a lot of press. The rest was generated through publicity and other donations. But this does mean that next month we get to yell COOL RUNNINGS! at our television screens for the first time in more than a decade.
