Poster "Time", a question....

[Karl]

Peter, we’re entering hyperbolic territory here! What “mileage” do you really think this two-man bobsled team will or has given to Jamaica? Does anyone, aside from us Jamaicans, really pay any attention to them?

Trust me, it is highly unlikely that Disney or any other major company will embark on another movie about tropical island guys entering the world of ice. As a movie idea, “Cool Runnings” was certainly novel at the time. Sadly, we will most likely never see a repeat.

If you want to talk about mileage, then I suggest you refer to the Reggae Boyz in 1997-98. Now, that is genuine mileage, topped only by our sprinters and hurdlers between 2008 and 2013.

My point remains: A desperately poor Third World country like Jamaica cannot afford to fritter away extremely scarce resources on foolish dreams! The private sector can probably invest more in the country, but they should do so in the case of realistic projects and situations!!

Historian: There is great value in promoting our brand in the marketplace.
Those services and products we provide that earn us hard currency ride on the backs of awareness of our country and people in various marketplaces. I am sure we all can connect the dots and understand the contributions those bobsleigh forays on being broadcast to world markets add to keeping our brand's fire burning.

Hey there must first be knowledge...an awareness...that you exist before you are even thought of...forget about the following step of becoming aware of your services and products...

Go JA Bobsleigh! ...the fiery explosion you brought to social media, cable TV, national 'free' broadcast tv and print media world-wide was priceless! Multiple millions took renewed interest in our country and our people and the services and products we have for sale. Surely billions more took a first look?

[Time]

The Jamaican government and most Jamaican corporate entities are struggling in this IMF-dependent environment, and so the last thing that we need is money to throw away on gimmicks. So tell me this: Why on earth are we being called on to sponsor a tiny team to the Winter Olympics?

Don’t you think it’s much wiser and beneficial if we put our limited resources into genuinely developing our lagging sports facilities and activities like lawn tennis, swimming, soccer (both men and women’s), boxing, basketball, track and field (beyond the short sprints), volleyball, netball, and cricket?!

What on earth do we seriously expect to gain at the Winter Olympics? In 1988 we entered and failed to finish, but the popular Disney movie on that Jamaican effort in Calgary seems to have gone to our heads!

I heard that the Jamaica Olympics Committee or what ever they are called gave them US 80,000 and that the worldwide public gave them more in about 2 days of fundraising. Peter is correct. Jamaica got a lot of free publicity because of this team. Furthermore people have a right to sponsor whatever sport team they want to sponsor and people world wide loved and sponsored this team. This team is more popular than our lawn tennis, swimming, women's soccer, boxing, basketball, volleyball and netball teams.

[Historian]

A "Recall Moment"

Just felt like sending this absurd discussion once more to the top.