Dogecoin community helps send Indian luger to Sochi
Let's hear it for the Internet! Reddit's Dogecoin community has come together to help raise money to send another athlete to the Sochi Games.
Dogecoin is a virtual currency based on an Internet meme — don't try parsing that out; it'll just make your head hurt — and its community came together last month to raise $30,000 to help send the Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics. Now, they've joined forces again to raise more than $7,000 to send Indian luger Shiva Keshavan to Sochi.
This will be Keshavan's fourth Olympics. But his funding is a problem because of the catastrophic state of India's Olympic committee. Amid allegations of corruption, the commitee was unable to get its house in order to the International Olympic Committee's satisfaction. Thus, Keshavan and two other Indian Olympians will have to compete as independents. Some have already termed their flag-less march in the Opening Ceremonies as India's "Walk of Shame."
“It’s quite sad,” Keshavan told the Washington Post. “Rather than showcasing our country, it will be a shameful moment in the history of our country’s sport.”
If you're wondering how someone might train for the luge in India, you're not alone. Here are some GIFs of Keshavan dodging traffic and livestock as he practices on public roads:
And this:
Dogecoins, like Bitcoins, are a virtual currency with little individual value; each "coin" is worth about a tenth of a cent. But the community which holds a stake in these coins has shown its charitable side on multiple occasions. Perhaps Keshavan will sport a Doge sweatshirt at some point while in Sochi.
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is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter.
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