The Manicou Report

Red Carpet reception

So here comes all the talk now about whether the rewards given to the Soca Warriors was way too much or way too little. And of course all this talk was expected. After the euphoria from Germany is all over we gather and backseat-drive decisions that were made. Of course the discussion now is like a dog chasing it’s tail; absolutely pointless. By the way, much kudos to the Trinidad Express for doing a story on the suitability of the rewards by interviewing the mother of perhaps the richest sportsman in Trinidad, Dwight Yorke. You all really dig deep to find your stories.

First of all you will never have every single citizen agreeing on what was right or what would have been right for that matter. So trying to please everyone is futile. Someone once said, “I don’t know what the secret to success is, but the secret to failure is to try to please everybody. I’m not a fan of the Government, however if the Government got together and offered them $1 million, then fine by me. All those who are complaining and second-guessing, please tell me this: What yardstick are you using? Does anyone remember one of Aesop’s fables called The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey?

The Warriors went to Germany. They played three brave matches and lost all of them. They didn’t score a goal in Germany. Does this mean that we are rewarding mediocrity?

When you consider that there are over 200 teams under FIFA’s control and we were good enough to make it to the tournament as one of the 32 teams invited, doesn’t it say that we are in fact above average even ever so slightly?

Most of these guys don’t get the million dollar salaries that people like Beckham and Larsson get, so why can’t the Government give them a hefty reward. Do we have to wait till West Ham snatches up another Shaka Hislop or Manchester United another Dwight Yorke? Let’s reward our own. We have the money, we have the stars. Let’s give them what they have due. And lets give back to them what they gave to T&T. Look at what we’ve been through these past few months and more specifically these past couple weeks. We thought, slept, drank and ate football. We’ve never been so united and so happy even in the midst of our crime wave.

Dwight Yorke

How much publicity did Trinidad & Tobago get at this World Cup? I’m sure without a doubt that hundreds of millions of people who did not know Trinidad & Tobago then, have it on their tongues now. People who thought Trinidad & Tobago was a country in Africa (and there are many who do) now know that it’s smack dab in the Caribbean.

And yet it’s not too little a reward. Remember this is a million dollars these guys did not have a week ago. And while they united a country and blah, blah, blah, they did it playing football. They didn’t solve our crime problem or juvenile delinquency or the drug trade. It was a great feat but they are still 23 individuals playing a game.

What the Government can really do to honour these Soca Warriors is what it chooses to do after the euphoria is over. What measures they can put into place to make sure that we are not one-hit-wonder. The real reward is what the Government can give not just to the footballers, but to football itself.

How great it will be when I can go to the United States and open my mouth to talk and not be confused for a Jamaican (and this has happened to me innumerable times before and I’m sure it’s happened to many of you). How great that day will be when a Jamaican man speaks in some European country and he’s immediately asked, “Hey are you from Trinidad?”

Oh, man I would give so much to make that come true.