After a day of extensive autograph signings, meet-and-greet sessions and multiple treks around the length and breadth of Port of Spain's Hyatt Regency Hotel, Shaka Hislop faced the Express for a 7 p.m. interview last Saturday.
Hislop, the 41-year-old ESPN commentator and former Trinidad and Tobago World Cup stand-out, was in town for the inaugural Flow World Expo held at the same venue.
Hislop, who stands at six foot five, wore a soft jeans and button-up tee-shirt and converse sneakers—all in sober, earthly tones. His hair was close cropped and his face was clean shaven.
Despite his stature in terms of height and reputation, Hislop, once the England Premiership’s most expensive goalkeeper, has a knack of moving around without calling attention to himself and we moved soundlessly through the lobby.
What was this Flow business about and why was he here?
“Flow are commercial partners to ESPN and one of their more significant partners in the region,” said Hislop. “ESPN is excited about this and wanted to be a part of it because of our relationship with Flow and also because we play a significant role in television in the Caribbean ourselves and especially in Caribbean sport.”
He was just warming up.
“The expo is a means of showcasing the Flow services,” said Hislop. “There is ‘My Home’ which offers television, internet and telephone services and also includes 3D packages and channels like HBO and ESPN…”
He went on to give a comprehensive, off the cuff account of Flow’s plans for the local market. Not the usual “bread and butter” topics of sportsmen.
But then Hislop, who holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Howard University and once interned at NASA, never did conform to the stereotype of the modern-day star athlete.
The first of three boys born to George Hislop and his wife Gina, an attorney and court stenographer respectively, Hislop was educated at St Mary’s College and his language, diction and composure were evident for almost as long as his ability to thwart strikers with his lanky frame.
ESPN, he discovered, took a special interest in him even before he hung up his gloves in 2007.
“Steve Palese, who is my producer now, saw me do interviews during my professional career and at the 2006 World Cup and felt I would be a good addition,” said Hislop. “He heard about my retirement in September 2007 and invited me to come to ESPN in October to do a couple shows.”
Hislop’s progress was fairly rapid.
His insight and witty banter on ESPN’s Press Pass program won him new fans and, by the 2010 World Cup, he had the distinction of being the network’s only full-time commentator in South Africa.
“It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the experience,” he said. “My only regret is that I did not get to see much of the country. We were stationed at Mandela Square in Johannesburg and, with two shows a day, I didn’t get the opportunity to stray very far.”
Hislop’s ESPN duties include covering teams and players through competitions that range from the English, Italian, Spanish, French and Australian leagues to international tournaments in Concacaf, Europe and Africa.
“It is a lot of football to digest,” he said. “You have to try to remember players’ names and statistics and how they did last week and who scored. I feel like I’m back in school sometimes with all that research.”
But Hislop claimed that staying impartial and conquering his nerves when covering Trinidad and Tobago’s teams was his biggest challenge. He froze on air, for the first time, while doing his maiden Trinidad and Tobago international, which was a 3-0 World Cup qualifying loss to the United States in Chicago.
“I went air silent during one point of the match for what felt like about eight minutes,” he said. “My producer was in my ear demanding an opinion and I just couldn’t find anything to say that was air worthy.”
Hislop was especially unimpressed with the performance of the local Pro League teams in this season’s Concacaf Champions League and believes there might be a connection with the uninspiring form of the national men’s team.
“I found the defending to be particularly naïve and I am surprised at how bad it was,” he said. “Noone wants to stay on their feet and tackle. Everyone wants to lunge in and ‘pelt their blade’ as they say. Any decent striker’s eyes will light up at the prospect of facing a defender who is only interested in the glamorous tackles.
“I am a big Russell Latapy fan but I don’t think he has the players to succeed given what I have seen in the Concacaf Champions League. If those are our best players, then it is no wonder that we are struggling like this.”
Hislop is one of 13 players locked in legal battle with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) over World Cup bonuses. He felt the fact that Trinidad and Tobago’s football successes came in 16-year intervals at the 1974, 1990 and 2006 World Cup qualifying campaigns suggests a deeper problem and a need for administrative change by the local body.
He insisted that he was not the most talented goalkeeper in his age group—he prefers former Defence Force player and now coach, Russ Russell—let alone the country’s history. But he is certainly the most celebrated.
He spent over a decade in England’s top flight with three different clubs, competed in Europe with Newcastle and West Ham and played alongside the likes of Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole.
Hislop is a Chaconia Gold medal winner, the first foreign player since Pele to be awarded a Special Merit Award from England’s Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the recipient of the Alexander B. Chapman Award from the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) for outstanding contribution to sport and the promotion of Olympic ideals.
He is also co-founder and Hall of Fame member of anti-racism group, Show Racism The Red Card.
“When I look back on that day that I retired, I wasn’t emotionally prepared,” he said. “To tell myself that I would never be as good as I once was and nothing I did could change it…
“It was a hard admission to make.”
From celebrity to citizen Hislop, he maintained that he is coping well with his new career and making the most of additional time with his wife, Desha, and their five children.
“I think the biggest change is that I have more input in my life now,” he said. “For 15 years, your club tells you what you can and can’t do and when you can and can’t do it. Now the decision is mine. Even though I’m at ESPN, I can put in for a holiday and get a week off to spend with my family.
“In football, once the season starts you have to be at the club regardless of anything but bereavement.”
The interview had run its course and Hislop bid farewell before striding, almost unseen, through a group of chatty locals who were preparing for a wedding reception.