Monday, February 22, 2010

More Olympic goodness

Four man bobsled.
What do the two guys in the middle do?

No really... do they do anything at all? Or do they just sit there?

Cuz I am really not sure if I would want my big golden Olympic moment to be acting as human ballast.

How would I respond to questions about earning a medal.
"Well, I jump into a bobsled really fast, then I crouch down really low."

ooh the athleticism.

9 comments:

Bill C. said...

The middlemen are called "pushers". Their skill, lots of speed and power in the smallest lightest package. Not quite the prestige of a pilot, but only slightly less talent then the brakeman...who I imagine is just the strongest pusher (aka - the last guy you want to stop pushing and get in the sled).

Syd said...

Doesn't seem like they should get the same medal as say, an Olympic skier.

eb said...

But isn't the start one of the most critical aspects of bobsledding? I think crouching is a secondary talent to not feeding your curiosity. How many races were lost because one of the middle guys looked up to see if they were 'there yet?' Probably LOTS.

e said...

They are all important members of the team, even the ballast. I just wish they didn't wear those grotesque and crotch-revealing skin-tight suits. UGH!

clammy said...

hmmm.. perhaps the ballast duo can cross-over and be the sweepers for curling. Shouldn't people be able to perform in more than one event!

Anonymous said...

Ride, Sally, Ride!! I guess thier asses fill up the space between the front guy and the back guy. Just guess'n.

PG

maxine said...

Back in the day, when I used to...ahem...date Olympic Bobsledders...it never occured to me to ask...

Trish said...

am thinking they are the ham in the sandwich...;-)

then again, what does the guy on TOP of the slider do other than push his buns into the guy driving and hold on for dear life??

Anonymous said...

Four guys in crotch hugging suits hop into a sled shaped like a giant schlong and hurtle downhill.

ooo, the athleticism.