13 quotes
Understanding Bobsled Basics
Derice
That's a Bobsled.
[knocks the wheels off a pushcart]
Sanka
Oh, so a bobsled is a pushcart with no wheels.
Derice
It's what it looks like here.
[opens a book]
Sanka
Let me see that, Alright... "The key elements for a successful sled team are a steady driver and three strong runners to push off down the ice..." ICE? Ice!
[Derice hands Sanka the book; to Derice]
Derice
Well... it's kind of a winter sport, ya know?
Sanka
You mean winter, as in ICE?
Derice
Maybe.
Sanka
You mean winter, as in igloos and Eskimos and penguins and ICE?
Derice
Possibly.
Sanka
See ya.
[hands the book back]
Derice
Where you going?
Sanka
I'm going to take a hot bath, I'm getting cold just thinking about all this ice.
Derice
No man, you're going to be part of my bobsled team.
Sanka
What do you need me for?
Derice
Who is the best pushcart driver in all of Jamaica?
Sanka
You're looking at him!
Derice
Then you gotta do it?
Sanka
NO!
Derice
Hey man, you could be famous, you could have your picture on a Wheaties box. But you said no and that's alright because I don't need ya, everybody is gonna want to be on my bobsled team.
Sanka
Look Star, let tell you a little somethin', alright? When you need somethin from me, you don't have to hand me a bunch of lines. All you have to do is look at me in the eye and say, "Sanka, you are my best friend, we been through a whole heap together and I really, really need you.
Derice
Sanka, you right, and you are my best friend, and we been through a whole lot together...
Sanka
Heap, heap.
Derice
Sorry man, whole heap together.
Sanka
And I really, really need you.
Derice
And I really really need you.
Sanka
...Forget it!
Derice
But you just said if I said that, mon...
Sanka
Alright, alright, alright, alright, mon.
Jamaica's Historic Olympic Bobsled Journey
Taglines
Inspired by the true story of Jamaica's first Olympic bobsled team.
Unexpected Jamaican Pride at the Olympics
Olympic Announcer
Where did these guys come from?
Crowd At Bar
JAMAICA!!!!
[shouts at TV]
Naming the Sled: A Team Discussion
Sanka
So what are we going to name the sled?
Junior
How about...Talulah.
Rest of team
Talulah!
[Laughing]
Sanka
Sounds like a two-dollar hooker. How'd you come up with that?
Junior
It's real. That's my mother's name.
[Embarrassed silence, then Team converses in agreement that Talulah is a good name]
Sanka
What's it gonna be, star? What are the people gonna be screaming when Jamaica takes the hill?
[to Derice]
Derice
I say we call it, Cool Runnings.
Junior
Beautiful, I like it.
Yul
Very strong.
Coach Irv
Nice, very nice, but... what exactly does it mean?
Derice
Cool runnings means, "peace be the journey.
Team
Cool Runnings.
[Toasting]
Messenger
Excuse me...
[gives Coach Irv a letter and leaves]
Sanka
To the man in the orange suit. To the messenger.
[Toasting; Toasting after man leaves]
Coach Irv
We are officially...disqualified.
[Ashen-faced, after reading the letter]
A Father's Ultimatum to His Son
Whitby Bevil Sr
Now you listen to me, boy. You might not have done what you were asked, but you will do what you're told. You're coming home.
Junior Bevil
Yeah, but father, you know, I just–
Whitby
But nothing!! I didn't send you to the finest school for you to... go around sliding on your back side! You must be mad.
Junior
Yeah, but the team needs me-
Whitby
I don't want to hear any more about it. Go and get your things. I'll wait in the lobby.
[Elevator door opens; Junior Bevil stands aside to usher his father into the elevator]
Junior
Pride, Power... Father, when you look at me, what do you see?
[Murmurs; Stops elevator]
Whitby
I don't have time for games, Junior.
Junior
Tell me what you see, please!
Whitby
All right, I'll tell you what I see. I see a lost little boy, who's lucky to have a father who knows what's best for him.
Junior
No, no, no, no, you don't know what's best for me, Father. I am not a lost little boy, Father. I am a man, and I'm an Olympian. I'm staying right here.
[Stops elevator again; Elevator door closes with a sad Whitby Sr inside]
Yul
Hey, Junior Bevil. You're a bad-ass mother.
[having seen the exchange]
Self-Reflection and Personal Identity
Yul
Now look in the mirror and tell me what you see.
Junior
I see Junior.
Yul
You see Junior. Well, you want to know what I see? I see pride. I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who don't take no crap off nobody!
Junior
You really see all that?
Yul
Yeah, man. But it's not about what I see. It's about what you see. Now look in this mirror and tell me again what you see.
Junior
I see...
[clears throat, hesitantly]
Yul
Pride!
Junior
Pride. Right.
Yul
Power!
Junior
Power. And I see...
[more confidently]
Yul
...a bad-ass mother...
Junior, Yul
...who won't/don't take no...
Junior
...crap off of nobody!
Yul
Again!
Junior
I see pride!
Yul
Can't hear you!
Junior
I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who won't take no crap off of nobody!
Yul
Once again!
Junior
I see pride!
Yul
Junior!
Junior
I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who won't take no crap off of nobody!
Yul
That's right!
Junior
That's right! Junior Bevil!
[storming out of bathroom]
Yul
Wait. W-W-Where you going?
Jamaican Dream in Harsh Winter Conditions
Taglines
One Dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty Below Zero.
Confronting Prejudice in Competitive Sports
British Alliance Member
We must also be concerned about the potential for embarrassment.
Irv Blitzer
Oh, forgive me. I didn't realize that four black guys in a bobsled could make you blush.
[British panelist goes quiet]
IAWS Officer
I think we've heard enough.
Irv
Come on, Kurt, what you're doing is wrong and you know it! Now if this is about you and me, let's get it straight right now.
[pleads]
Irv
All right, ], I made the biggest mistake of my life - I cheated. I was stupid. I embarrassed myself, my family, my teammates, my country... and my coach. If it's revenge you want, take it. Go ahead, disqualify me, banish me! Do whatever you want, but do it to me! It was me who let you down, Kurt! It wasn't my guys! They've done everything you've asked of them! And they did it with all of you laughing in their face. Hell, it doesn't matter if they come in first or 50th. Those guys have earned the right to represent their country. They've earned the right to march into that stadium and wave their nation's flag. That's the single greatest honor an athlete can ever have. That's what the Olympics are about. Sixteen years ago, I forgot that. Don't you go and do the same. Sorry if I interrupted your meeting.
[[w:1972 Winter Olympics|16 years ago; points to Kurt; walks out]
Measuring Self-Worth Beyond Achievements
Irv
Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it.
Derice
Hey, coach, how will I know if I'm enough?
Irv
When you cross that finish line, you'll know.
Pushing Limits: A Conversation on Excellence
Sanka
You don't understand. I am Sanka Coffie. I am the best pushcart driver in all of Jamaica! I must drive! Do you dig where I'm coming from?
Irv
Yeah, I dig where you're coming from.
Sanka
Good.
Irv
Now dig where I'm coming from. I'm coming from two gold medals. I'm coming from nine world records in both the two- and four-man events. I'm coming from ten years of intense competition with the best athletes in the world.
Sanka
That's a hell of a place to be coming from!
Embracing Unique Identity Over Imitation
Derice
You know, when the Swiss want to ge....
[Team groans]
Sanka
Ah, will you shut up about the damn Swiss! I mean, it was all that "eins, zwei, drei" nonsense that got us all nervous in the first place.
Derice
Hey, man, look here, I'm just trying to get us off on the right foot.
Sanka
Well, the right foot for us is not the Swiss foot. I mean, come on, Derice, we can't be copying nobody else's style. We have our own style.
Derice
Kissing an egg is no kind of style. It's the Olympics here, it's no stupid pushcart derby.
[Long pause]
Sanka
Let me tell you something, rasta, I didn't come up here to forget who I am and where I come from.
Derice
Neither did I. I'm just trying to be the best I can be.
Sanka
So am I, and the best I can be is Jamaican. Look, Derice, I've known you since Julie Jeffreys asked to see your ding-a-ling. And I'm telling you as a friend...if we look Jamaican, walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican and IS Jamaican, then we sure as hell better bobsled Jamaican.
[Derice smiles]
Determination in the Face of Adversity
Sanka
Derice! You dead?
Derice
No, man, I'm not dead. We have to finish the race.
[removes his helmet]
Irv
Excuse me, please. Excuse me.
[pushing through spectators to reach the crash]
Grool
Sehr gut, Jamaica. We'll see you in four years, ja?
[shakes Derice's hand]
Derice
Yeah, man.
Yul
Junior Bevil! That doesn't mean that I like you.
[grabs Junior; kisses him on the forehead]
Junior
We split.
[they laugh and hug each other]