The Winter Olympics features many sports that Americans are not necessarily familiar with. Some spectators question whether certain competitions should be called sports or should even be allowed to take place. Luge is one of those sports that leaves spectators wondering why it should be practiced at all. Game participants lie down on a fiberglass sled without a braking system and hurtle their feet along the icy track at speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour. Participants risk death if they are crushed on the icy track at such high speeds. Some athletes lost their lives coming off the sled while others suffered serious injuries. This is a dangerous game that can only be equated with a suicide attempt. Luge is a game of speeding a narrow sled down mountains at faster speeds than either skeleton or bobsled. Brown and Frantz note that luge is one of the fastest Olympic sports where participants exceed speeds of 140 kilometers per hour. Today the official track speed record for luge is 153.98 kilometers per hour (Brown and Frantz). Despite its ability to entertain audiences, draw large, cheering crowds and keep spectators on the edge of their seats as they wonder whether competitors will make it, luge has been cited as the strangest sport due to its extreme danger. It is the only Olympic sport where prayer is necessary because the participant does not know whether he will make it or die by the end of the match. The contestants must then pray to their gods to protect them from ending up in a mess of bone and flesh by the end of the game. Simply put, sledding can be equated to a suicide mission. Additionally, the sliders must stay on the sled and maintain a strictly streamlined shape while carefully keeping track of where the center of the card is......the going is tough on the neck and back muscles , only ten injuries were recorded as serious injuries consisting of broken bones (Epstein). While these statistics are interesting for people who would like to participate in sledding, it should be noted that sledding is a dangerous game. Sledging is a dangerous game because, unlike many games in which the audience cheers its teams enthusiastically, sledging fans cheer on their players while holding their breath with bated breath wondering whether they will survive or die. Sledding is the only game where players are advised to maintain close contact with their gods to help them stay alive on the trail. It's the only game where family members can start crying when a loved one reveals their desire to participate in the game instead of encouraging them to join the team. This probably explains the slow growth of sledding despite its rich history.