Paul Oberjuerge: The Matterhorn of Winter
My favorite Winter Olympics event is the four-man bobsled.
It's the one event I feel as if I've done. Well, sort of. At Disneyland, of course, on that concrete and fiber-glass mountain Walt put up all those years ago.
I've ridden as driver, brakeman, and in the "pusher" positions, as well. As a child, I liked to think my leaning this way and that actually made the bobsled go faster.
It's definitely the coolest event to watch.
For starters, the modern bobsled looks like a Formula One race car. Sleek as can be, slick, aerodynamic as a bird.
I love the start. The four men rocking that thing just a little, then the mad dash down the start, and the smooth loading of the driver and the three riders, in sequence.
Those guys hit speeds up to 80 mph on the course here. If you're at one of these events in person, you can feel the sled coming even before you see it, or hear it. The track vibrates several seconds ahead of the sled whooshing past.
Before going over to short-track speedskating, I'm watching a bit of the four-man bob, on TV, here in the Main Media Center. Brazil's sled just turned over and slid hundreds of yards. That must have been a rush. No one appears to be hurt.
I'm not sure I'm still up to it, but as a kid, I would have raised my hand for a chance to ride in the four-man bobsled. Heck, I already had experience. From repeated turns on the E-ticket ride at Disneyland.
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