The winter Olympics are on the brink of the sports world forefront, which is the universe I eat, breathe, and sleep! So far there are two stories that have captured my interest:
#1- How the NHL can shut down (for two weeks) as a league, to allow the best athletes in the world to represent their countries, and compete in the Olympics.
#2- Jamaica’s two man bobsled team qualified for the Olympics, but is in need of $80,000 worth of fundraising to afford the trip to Sochi.
I applaud the NHL for allowing its athletes a chance to represent their countries despite huge pay checks, owners, unions, etc… If I had the chance to ask NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman one question it would be, “How can you possibly manage the logistics of a two week hiatus?” With all the logistics behind an 82 game season, did he have to extend play, schedule less off days — being creative is a must.
The second item captures a much bigger audience. I’m sure we all remember the movie “Cool Runnings” whose ending rivals “It’s a Wonderful Life” (which happens to be my favorite holiday movie). The 2014 version of Jamaica’s bobsled team happens to need $80K in order to participate in the Olympics. With corporate sponsorship and social media, I’m surprised I didn’t hear about dozens of companies willing to pony up the cash to be associated with this Disney story.
I’m going to follow the bobsled team news during the next week to see how this story unfolds. For the 2014 version of “Cool Runnings” I hope this team can avoid a crash and stand proud on the podium and earn a medal.
