‘Cooler Runnings’: Niles West Coach Gets Spot on Jamaican Bobsled Team

SKOKIE, IL - Michael Blair, an educator and athletic coach at Niles West High School in Skokie and a former NFL player, has earned a spot on the Jamaican bobsled team.

Yes, that Jamaican bobsled team. The one made famous in “Cool Runnings,” the 1993 movie starring John Candy that followed the story of the unlikely true story of how a nation near the equator like Jamaica became involved with a sport that requires freezing temperatures and lots of snow.

Blair, a dual citizen in Jamaica and the United States, has been invited to train with the team and has an ultimate goal of being in the sled for Jamaica during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Back in July, Blair met Harry Nelson, strength coach for Team Jamaica, while he was in his native country to promote Ninety10 Sports, his sports performance and development company. Nelson connected him to Devon Harris, Secretary General of the Jamaican Bobsled Federation.

Harris offered Blair the opportunity to train with the team based on his “mental focus, work ethic and physical prowess,” according to a news release. Blair has already begun training, with his sights set on garnering a permanent seat in the sled for the March 2017 Olympic trials.

“I have the skills, elite professional experience and knowledge necessary to make the Jamaican National Bobsled Team,” said Blair, a former NFL running back who played for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers during the 1998 season.

Blair played college football at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

He has started a GoFundMe effort, neatly called “Cooler Runnings 2018” for help with expenses related to training with the Jamaican team.

“I’ve got about a month to raise about $75,000, so that I can keep my house, car and life on hold while I train with the team,” said Blair, an educator and football and track coach at Niles West. “To me, that is the scariest part. Flying down a mountain on an ice track in a tiny tube seems like a breeze compared to that.”

So far, Blair has raised $1,280 of his $75,000 goal.

photo via GoFundMe