WELCOME to September 13, 2001. Open your eyes and take a deep breath. Your country is about to take a giant step into history.
Over the next 18 days, the super skills and probing talents of the world's finest young footballers will provide the veneer to gloss over the widening cracks and deepening wounds of a nation, desperately grasping for a formula to help exorcise its current state of decadence.
Not that Roderick Anthony's inexperienced Trinidad and Tobago team can be expected to wave a magical wand to cast away the demons. Far from it.
Those who support the local youths must be conscious of the magnitude of the task facing them.
Their opponents in the preliminaries, Brazil, Australia and Croatia - as did most of the other teams - have all had extensive build ups with unlimited financial resources in the preparation for this tournament. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the local youths.
That, however, must be no reason to abandon all hope or to dismiss the value of their participation.
The fact remains that we are there, in a World Cup finals - for only the second time in our history.
In 1991, we were in Portugal for the Under 20 finals, courtesy Dwight Yorke's squad. And even if we are there today simply because we are the hosts, it is as good a reason as any for us to feel a sense of achievement. Afterall we did beat off bids from other major countries in our efforts to win the right to host the tournament, didn't we?
After several years of preparation and planning, the FIFA World Cup Under 17 Championships is about to unfold before our very eyes.
Are we ready? Are we capable?
I daresay we are.
It should be 18 days of non stop thrills and excitement.
Welcome to our visitors.
Now, let's show them what we got!