Cool Runnings Movie’s Bobsled Stolen From A Canadian Bar
The iconic Jamaica bobsled prop used in Disney's Cool Runnings has been stolen from the bar in Calgary where it has hung since filming wrapped. The 1993 feel-good sports movie told the true-life tale of an unlikely bobsleigh team from Jamaica, who competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. Starring John Candy in one of his best roles as team manager Irv Blitzer, the movie was a hit for Disney at a time when the media giant was pumping out a string of feel-good sports movies like The Mighty Ducks, Air Bud and Angels in the Outfield.
The movie also starred Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis and Malik Yoba as the bobsled team, who start out training in Jamaica, and end up qualifying for, and competing in, the 1988 Olympics. The movie's final scene, where the team's sled flips over and the four end up having to carry it over the finish line, is a classic Disney happy ending, where the real triumph is the friends the team made along the way. Cool Runnings remains a popular sports film, and is one of many Disney sports movies available on Disney+.
Now, Ladbible reports that the bobsled used in Cool Runnings, which featured the iconic black and yellow design, has been stolen from the bar in Calgary where it's hung for almost 30 years. According to realtor Rob Campbell, who is selling the property where the bar, Ranchman's, is located, the sled was stolen some time between October 21 and 25. Campbell says that it must have been a large group of people who stole it, as it was hung 20 feet above the patio from chains. Devon Harris, who was one of the actual bobsledders on the Jamaican team in 1988 made a plea for the thieves to return the bobsled. You can read his full comment below:
What are you going to do with a Jamaican bobsled? There are so many people around the world who can relate to us, we were brazen enough to pursue a dream everyone thought was impossible. Bring it back so we can all enjoy it. Why do you want to be the only person? That is selfish. We all want to enjoy a little piece of Jamaican Calgary history, don't keep it to yourself. It's gone too far now. Just bring it back. It's kind of like this work of art that somebody go hide in a basement and they are the only ones who have the opportunities to enjoy it. I have no idea what [they] are going to do with a sled. There's nothing they can do with it, right?
It's a sad tale, and Harris is clearly upset about a piece of his legacy, albeit a movie version, being stolen. Given that the land on which the bar sits is being sold, one could assume that perhaps the thieves wanted to save the piece of movie memorabilia from being thrown out or discarded, though it's far more likely that some fans of Cool Runnings stole the bobsled for purely selfish reasons.
It's not a surprise considering that the movie is a favorite, standing alongside The Mighty Ducks as one of Disney's most popular sports movies. Hopefully, though, the thieves have a change of heart and return the bobsled, as it clearly holds a place in Calgary, and Canadian as well as Jamaican, sporting folklore, and is a classic piece of memorabilia from Cool Runnings that deserves to be appreciated by all fans, not just a select few.
Source: Ladbible