Our very own Jamaican Bobsled Team, aka the USA Olympic Hockey Team came up short against the Finns today. Readers can fill in the blanks themselves to compare and contrast these two unique teams.
Jamaican Bobsled Team Slogan: "The Hottest Thing on Ice"
US Hockey Team Slogan: "The ______ Thing on Ice"
Results at 2006 Winter Olympics-
Jamaican Bobsled: failed to qualify
USA Hockey: 1-4-1 record, eliminated in quarter-finals by Finland (population 5 million), lost to Sweden (pop. 9 million), lost to Slovakia (pop. 5.4 million), lost to Russia, and tied Latvia (pop. 2.3 million).
How they are remembered:
Jamaican Bobsled Team: Lovable Losers
2006 US Olympic Hockey Team: _______ Losers
ICINGS: Maybe the US Hockey Team should be compared to Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards? They both liked to crash and burn. (Play rim-shot here!)
Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), better known as Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, was the first competitor to represent the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in Olympic Ski jumping.
Edwards was born in Cheltenham, England, and was working as a plasterer when he qualified, as the sole British applicant, for the 1988 Winter Olympics ski-jumping competition. He had previously represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships, and was ranked 55th in the world at ski jump.
Edwards was handicapped by his weight - at about 82 kg (180 pounds), more than 9kg (20 pounds) heavier than the next heaviest competitor - and by his lack of financial support for training - he was totally self-funded - and so he finished last in both the 70m and 90m events. Another problem was that his glasses fogged to such an extent that he could not see. (Sounds like Rick DiPietro's problem in today's game)
However his lack of success warmed people to him all across the globe. The worse he did, the more popular he became. He subsequently became a media celebrity and appeared on talk-shows around the world. The press nicknamed him "Mr. Magoo", and one Italian journalist called him a "ski dropper". Edwards lived the high life in Calgary, fine-dining and accompanied by an adoring female entourage of "Eaglettes"[citation needed].
The Olympics in Calgary were also the venue for the first Jamaican Bobsled Team, who were also crowd-pleasing underdogs.
Hey just hold on now...I bet we can beat Luxemburg. Oh wait, sorry, they don't have team.