Olympic Father Mails 1,250 Shirts to Supporters

Tucker West's father Brett West made headlines in 2014 when he went on "Today" and asked for girls to reach out to his "shy" and "very single" son

What to Know

  • Born and raised in Connecticut, luge competitor Tucker West is heading to Pyeongchang for his second Olympic Winter Games
  • The 22-year-old athlete has plenty of sporting accolades, but his dad's "Today" appearance in '14 gave him renown as a bachelor
  • Tucker West is single no longer; he's now dating a girl named Raychel Germaine, a luge athlete he met when he was 13

Brett West is not shy about displaying his pride for his son, U.S. Olympic luger Tucker West. 

Brett runs the “Team Tucker” Facebook page. He owns license plates that read “LUGE” and “LUGE DAD.” The first line of his Twitter bio is even “Tucker's Dad.”

Now Brett is making it easier for others to show their support for “Team Tucker.”

Brett has mailed more than 1,250 shirts—at his own expense—to fans of his son. The distribution list has only grown since the 2014 Sochi Games, when Brett mailed 750 shirts and Tucker became the youngest U.S. Olympic luger ever at the age of 18.

The 2018 version, which was designed by Tucker’s youngest sister Gracie, costs $17 plus shipping. 

“I went with high-quality cotton,” Brett said. “Couldn't have something say ‘Team Tucker’ on low quality!”

To receive a shirt, Brett asked supports to send him a message explaining how they became a fans of “Team Tucker.” Messages flooded in from Ridgefield, Conn. neighbors to as far away as Australia. 

Brett’s favorite message came from Janice Coppola, a chef who cooked for Tucker when he attended Union College. 

“He wouldn't let me treat him special, but special is what he is, for sure,” Coppola wrote. “Thank you and congratulations on not only raising an Olympian, but for raising a gentleman. Go Tucker!!”

This is not the first time Brett went to great lengths to support his son.

After watching luge together during the 2002 Olympics, Brett built Tucker, then 6, a grandiose wooden luge track in their backyard that grew to be more than 700 feet long with an automatic icing system, lights and speakers.

Then during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Brett created a social media firestorm when he encouraged girls to reach out to his “shy” and “very single” son on Facebook during an interview on NBC’s “TODAY.”

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