The Jamaican bobsled team, which was immortalized in the 1993 Disney movie Cool Runnings, qualified for Sochi after a 12-year absence from the games. However, as recently as two days ago, the team was broke and needed $80,000 to compete. The team has no official funding and will need to pay for various costs including travel and equipment. However, crowdfunding, doge, Reddit, and virtual currency have combined to raise approximately $56,300 in less than three days for the Olympics-bound underdogs.
For the first time since 2002, Jamaican bobsledders have qualified for the Olympics, and it’s one of those feel-good news events that sends waves of nostalgic, feel-good vibes through any and every decent human being with a love for John Candy. The Guardian even referred to this blurring of lines between reality and classic 90s comedy as “Cool Runnings II.” But qualifying for Sochi isn’t the same as actually getting there. Winston Watt, the driving half of Jamaica’s two-man team, admitted to the Telegraph that the team might not even have enough funding to get themselves to Sochi in the first place. Cue the crowdfunding campaign. Oh, and since this is 2014, that means Dogecoin.
