On Friday 27 April 2012, over a dozen Caledonia young men faced a combined army/coast guard battalion near Movie Towne in Port of Spain and whipped the soldiers in front of a few hundred witnesses before sauntering into the night with new silverware and $36,000 in prize money.
The assailants will not be cowering. The soldiers can meet them again any time. They need only find a vacant football field and match officials.
It was a sporting contest after all; the 2012 Lucozade Sport Goal Shield final, to be exact. And there has been no better team in Cup competition this season than the Morvant/Laventille-based Caledonia AIA.
In Friday’s football final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Caledonia shot down Defence Force 3-1 to add the Goal Shield to the TTFF FA Trophy and First Citizen’s Cup titles that were already secured.
Sport Minister Anil Roberts was present while Lucozade brand manager Keegan Henry presented the super-sized trophy to the self-titled "Eastern Stallions." It was a pity there was only a small crowd from Caledonia's maligned neighbourhood to see their flag bearers applauded off the field by representatives from the government and business community.
Morvant/Laventille can do with some feel-good stories. It might not be a stretch to suggest that young men and women from other depressed communities, like Bagatelle, would have enjoyed this too.
But the Pro League is still searching for the pulse of a nation that rarely fills sporting venues. And even Lucozade's promise of an all-expense paid trip for two to England along with tickets to a Premiership match and accommodation to a randomly selected spectator did not entice the dormant sport fans.
So, there was a delicious irony when the lucky winner was announced.
Ricardo Theodore lives in New York but is on a short vacation in Trinidad to visit his father in Carenage. And he made the most of the poor attendance at the final to win a trip of a lifetime.
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