The Jamaican Bobsled Team

              Tony, Bryon, Eric, and Jeff get into the spirit of Halloween while posing with a pumpkin 

Trying to find a a group of guys who knew what they were being two weeks in advance was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  I needed a reliable group; a group of guys who would not leave me hanging in my scrubs on Halloween with my camera out but no one to take pictures of.  So, imagine my excitement when finally my roommate's boyfriend came over and told me they were being the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1993 movie, Cool Runnings.   

 Picture of the Jamaican bobsled team courtesy of

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coolrunningsteam.jpg

A few days later, I went over to their apartment on Fern to talk with the guys about their costumes.  They told me to refer to them as the Boys of Ferngully, which cleverly comes from the location of their apartment.  They Boys of Ferngully got their costume idea much like my roommates.

"Me and Eric were talking about Halloween when were watching the movie and thought it would be a good idea," Jeff said.  "I like this idea because everyone in our apartment is involved and I have not seen a lot of people do it before."

While at the apartment their excitement for the idea was pretty apparent, because they kept answering my questions in their best Jamaican accents.  

"I like it better in a group because it says we're serious but here to party," Eric said .

  

To my surprise, they already had the ball rolling and had started online shopping for supplies for their costumes.  Eric had already ordered the green and yellow duck tape that was going to be used to make the details on their black spandex uniforms on tapebrother.com.  He also ordered  Jamaican flag stickers from flagstickershop.com.  The most essential part of the costume is the black spandex that the athletes sport while bobsledding.  Bryon ordered his uniform on Walmart's Web site; however, the three others picked up their spandex at the Walmart in Oxford while visiting friends at Miami University.  Now, it was a waiting game.  They had to trust that the stores would get their purchases to Athens in time for the Halloween celebration.  

Bryon showing me the where he found the black spandex on Walmart's Web site

The guys are not being specific characters in the movie, except for Eric who is being Sanka Coffie.  He stands apart from the others because he has dreadlocks and carries around a lucky egg with him when he competes, which Eric is already planning to boil.

Nevertheless, they are going to try to be as Jamaican as possible to completely persuade people on Halloween that they are the real Jamaican bobsled them.  Let me tell you, they are pretty convincing with their fake Jamaican accents; I can tell they have been practicing a lot.  

"We are going to try to completely immerse ourselves in the Jamaican culture," said Bryon.  "We are going to look the part, be the part, and act the part."

And what do these guys think about Halloween?  For the most part, they think it is overrated for the people who go to OU but great for the people coming in town.  

"I appreciate that it gives our school a good reputation for partying," Jeff said.  "The block party puts us on a national level." 

To say the least, I am excited for my next adventure over to the Fern apartment to see these four guys transform into the Jamaican bobsled team.