American luger Tucker West 'mortified' by his dad's comments, loves him anyway
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Parents of Olympians, like most parents, will do anything and everything for their kids.
Sometimes, though, anything and everything can be a little too much.
Brett West, the father of 18-year-old American luger Tucker West, went on the "Today Show" Sunday and announced his son was “very single.” He encouraged “all the young ladies” to become fans of Tucker’s on Facebook.
Tucker himself didn’t see the report, but he sure did hear about it.
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“I was a little mortified when I heard his comment,” West said in the mixed zone after finishing 22nd in his first Olympic final, “but he’s still one of the greatest dads in the world and part of the greatest parent duo I could ever ask for.”
Whatever Brett West did seemed to have worked, as the Team Tucker Facebook page nearly doubled in fans from 1,900 to 3,200 in a matter of hours. Social media response was divided between fawning — “Somebody marry that boy!” and cringing —“I would be soooo embarrassed.”
Dad was a little embarrassed, too. “I am in so much trouble with Tucker,” he wrote on the same Facebook page he mentioned on NBC.
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Not to worry, though. Tucker insisted “I can’t be too mad at him.”
West’s dad has an admirable history of going over the top for his boy. He built an actual luge run in his family’s backyard so Tucker could get into the sport. Tucker said Sunday the run was “more of a big sledding hill” than actual practice, but it led to the Olympics and now the attention of more than a few young ladies.
In fact, the biggest issue with Brett West’s comments was the promise that his son “always gives back a personal response” to those who send him Facebook messages.
That promise, just like West’s luge plans, might take another four years to fulfill.
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