My thoughts…on stuff

The 2006 World Cup draw has been announced, with the pride of the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, placed in Group B. It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, my Caribbean brethren were going to represent us in one the world’s greatest sporting events. On the other hand, it reminded me of Jamaica’s failure to qualify. 4 years ago Jamaica became the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the World Cup. There was much celebrating, at home and abroad. The footballers became household names, and the Prime Minister declared a public holiday to mark their achievement. Football then replaced cricket as the most popular sport in the nation. Whenever the Reggae Boyz played a match, the stadium would always be awash with the national colours. Fans were making predictions about the future, of how the Reggae Boyz would soon be on par with juggernauts like Brazil and Spain. Now, 4 years later, that excitement, that passion, has all but gone.

I’m angry because the Reggae Boyz could have made it, it’s because of selfishness and poor teamwork why they didn’t. The Reggae Boyz’ performance in The World Cup impressed many, so much so that many of them were wooed by European football clubs. Many joined those clubs, and did well. But when it came time to represent their country, they disappointed. Some of them didn’t return to play for Jamaica. Others put their club schedule ahead of representing their country, the place they got their start. This left coaches desperately searching for players, many of them newcomers, leaving Jamaica with a sad excuse of a team. At the end of the day we failed to qualify, and for us, the road to Germany led to a dead end. Despite Jamaica’s miserable failiure, I’ll still watch the World Cup matches, especially those involving the Soca Warriors. They won’t win, that’s for sure, but it’ll be nice to see how far they go.