I’ve been keeping a strong eye on BBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics over the past week. (I’m watching it now in fact on the left side of the screen – it’s the women’s Snowboard Half Pipe). I’m only about half way through the entire competition on the BBC iPlayer, so not much has even happened yet. Mostly qualifying runs, and shitty no-events that no one gives a fuck about. Figure Skating, Biathlon, Luge! What the shit is Luge?! It’s Bobsled for dickheads isn’t it. Sledgers with no friends.

I love sport, as regular viewers will be aware. Olympics and Winter Olympics are occasions where lots of different sport is constantly happening over a period of 2-4 weeks. That’s brilliant, but it does often mean many pretty stupid otherwise ignored sports get underserved coverage. Handball anyone? Everyone has their favourites, for me it’s Ice Hockey, Curling, and the downhill Snowboard and Skiing events are pretty cool. But one you can be sure everyone loves, is the Bobsled. Why does everyone get behind what is really only the Skeleton (often abused and joked about, ‘idiots chucking themselves down an ice chute on a tea tray’), on a bigger tray.

Because of Cool Runnings. Perhaps more accurately, because of the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled team. And perhaps even more accurately, because they like to sing “Jamaica, we have a Bobsled team” in an accent reminiscent of a Lilt ad. The first time I ever saw the film was about the time it came out, 1993. I forget (until every Winter Olympics) that it’s even based on a true story. Having looked into it, it’s quite amazing just how little the film doesn’t need to fill in for itself.

Film: The idea is to use sprinters for a Bobsled team. The team are made up of Olympic class sprinters and a pushcart champion.

Real Life: The idea comes from pushcarts. The team are made up of sprinters from the Jamaican Army after no interest from athletes.

So far, it’s pretty similar. Just cleaned up a bit for the script.

Film: Their coach is American ex Bobsled Gold Medallist John Candy, who was caught cheating.

Real Life: Their coach is American ex Bobsled Bronze Medallist, who never cheated.

Pretty much the same. Gold instead of Bronze, and the cheating was invented  to add drama to the riches to rags to riches Hollywood staple.

Film: Jamaican team were hated because they were ‘different’, and abused by other teams. Had to buy US practice sled.

Real Life: Jamaican team were helped because they were the underdogs. Given US practice sled.

The invention of racism may have been offensive to the real life games (as this was far from the truth), but didn’t effect the overall story. Besides, anti-racism was all over Hollywood at the time.

Film: Jamaican team qualified, and were going fast (not medal pace) in the final, before crashing and carrying their sled over the line.

Real Life: Jamaican team qualified, and were going fast (not medal pace) in the final, before crashing and walking alongside their sled whilst it was pushed over the line.

Exactly the same without the suspension of disbelief required to think 4 men could lift a bobsled onto their shoulders, and walk with it (on ice) for 100 metres – for dramatic effect.

It’s an amazing story, one which inspires the true meaning of the Olympics. The competitors are amateurs. They’re not superstars like football players (apart from the Hockey). They’re normal people who really love their sport, and try very hard to achieve what they want. The true story of the Jamaican Bobsled Team (which we’re reminded of by Cool Runnings) is that anyone can be an Olympian. It’s the perfect Hollywood story, that anyone can achieve anything if they want it enough.

To take a true Cinderella story like this, and turn it into a film, attempting to transfer just half the emotion onto rolls of film, whilst staying as true as possible to the original, is not an easy task. The stranger the situation, the less the audience will care as they just won’t believe it. Even with a true story, it’s hard enough to get an audience thinking about the ‘real people’. But it’s one that this classic does brilliantly.

Cool Runnings is to the Winter Olympics, what Home Alone or Die Hard is to Christmas, it’s essential seasonal viewing, which can easily transfer to any Sunday afternoon. It’s just a shame it’s only remembered every 4 years. Right now, any DVD shop manager who doesn’t have a Cool Runnings special offer display, is a fool!