The Luge - Drunks In The Bar

By Richard Dowson Opinion/Commentary

There are two types of Olympic Luge events. The single and the double, men and women.

A Luge is a little, small sled. The single weighs 21–25 kg (46–55 lb). The double weighs 25–30 kg (55–66 lb). Luge became an Olympic sport in 1904.

The rider lays on their your back, face up, feet first and goes down an icy slope at speeds up to 140 km/h (87 mph). You’d get a speeding ticket if you drove that fast on the highway.

Photo credit - BBC.com

The rider steers by pushing on the flexible ‘horns’, on the top of the runners, with his/her calf muscles.

It’s a timed event, like most Rodeo events and, in my mind, just as dangerous and crazy as bull riding.

The single Luge makes sense. But who thought up the doubleluge. In the double, one person lays face-up, on their back on the Luge and the other lays face up on top of that person.

The idea of a Double Luge had to have come from a drinking party in a crowed bar. There is no other logical explanation.

Imagine a bunch of people in a bar somewhere in Germany.Wolfgang shouts, “Why isn’t there a doubles Luge event?” The semi-intoxicated crowd demands an explanation.

Photo credit - BBC.com

Wolfgang and his closest drinking buddy Klaus move the crowdto the pool table in the center of the bar. They borrow a rectangular serving tray from the kitchen-waiter and put the tray on the pool table. Wolf lays on his back on the tray, Kalus lays on top of him and voila – a new winter sport is born.

Why not? Many sports emerge from some crazy idea in a bar on a Saturday night.

I bet they tried a three-person Luge before they left the bar for the evening.

Writer Richard Dowson is a retired educator.

He is known for his frequenting local coffee shops and other places seniors gather.

In a previous life he wrote comedy for CHED in Edmonton.

His views may or may not reflect the views of this publication.