WHAT a week for us in football, and indeed for our country! Rising above the indisciplined, laissez-faire attitudes that so mark us as a people, our Soca Warriors showed character, grit and determination to hold Guatemala and beat the United States, and thus put our dreams for South Africa 2010 back into reality.
On Wednesday night, when the Soca Warriors walked out to inspect the field, there was total silence from our supporters. When the USA walked out, there was total silence as well —equal you may say!
In Guatemala, when the home team walked out the roar of support was deafening and sustained. When the Warriors walked out, the booing and jeering was like an avalanche from hell.
When the Guatemalan Futsal team, just back from early elimination at the Futsal World Cup was introduced, the applause was again — deafening, and sustained — all for Guatemala.
A few months ago, when we introduced our Under -16 team from the Caribbean Youth Cup, they got a few polite handclaps.
Our team in Guatemala knew that we were there, but they could not hear us-not against the constant roar of their own supporters. But I can tell you that they appreciated our presence, and the fact that they were flying home on a charter flight with our Number One Supporters — Their Excellencies President George Maxwell Richards, and Dr Jean Ramjohn Richards.
The president’s brief visit to the team upon arrival on the Saturday of the game was just what they needed. It was an acclamation of faith by our Head of State in their ability to do the job which our country had asked of them. And it was a tangible gesture, which made the team know that if our president could be there with them, who could be against them?
Who indeed? Where is our Government as we rebuild our fortunes in this campaign?
Well, they isolated their inputs to messages on the stadium scoreboard, sending propaganda to an audience which football provided, and blanking football’s access to the scoreboard unless money was paid.
And how ludicrous it was: One message kept claiming “The Government of TT — Football’s greatest saboteur.” Sorry — it actually said “supporter”, but when you read a sentence which you know is factually wrong, you tend to see the wrong words. I will change my spectacles!
So we returned from Guatemala, if not with three points, certainly with our pride intact and our spirits high, ready for our next encounter. But we returned alone. Not a drum was heard, not a bugle blown, for our arrival.
We saw, heard and felt no support from this Number One Supporter out there somewhere. And indeed, there was none from any government agency leading up to and during the match against the USA — Scoreboard proclamations notwithstanding. But we will not dwell on whether, or how, the government supports football. The mission is not yet fulfilled, for we still have one match to play before we are in the final round.
And we can still see our chance slip away, for if Guatemala can beat the USA in Denver, and if we lose to Cuba here at home, then Guatemala, not TT will move on. Both of these “ifs” have to occur for us to miss our chance, so talk of “only a draw is needed” to be safe, is dangerous talk, and brings back memories of another November 19, when only a draw was needed.
We need to win against Cuba, to set our standard for 2009, when we expect to play against the States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and any two of Jamaica, Mexico or Honduras.
In 2000, we won the semi-final round with a game to spare, and sent a weak team to Mexico, and got beaten 7 — 0, and then came last in the Final round.
Winning is a habit which must be maintained. Let’s keep it up.