Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARYJAMAICA HAS a rich history of top-class performances in sports, there can be no question about that, and many thanks to those who have won.
To those who, like George Headley and Courtney Walsh in cricket, Lindy Delapenha and Ricardo Gardner in football, Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell in track, Bunny Grant and Michael McCallum in boxing and Patricia McDonald in netball, have distinguished themselves.
The list, probably really starting with Arthur Wint and George Rhoden at the Olympic Games in London in 1948, is long, it would take up this entire newspaper to do a roll call, but Jamaica will never ever forget them. Each and every one of them has contributed to this country's envied position in the world of sports.
And there is no question about it: Jamaica is big in the world of sports, and despite its fall from grace in sports like football and cricket, it does not matter the sport. Jamaica has, for example, distinguished itself by some noteworthy performances by its bobsleigh repre-sentatives - and for people coming from a hot country like ours, that is no mean feat.
Everywhere that there is sport, Jamaica is known and respected. The black, green and gold, and especially so the gold, is as popular in some countries as the red, white and blue, it is probably more loved in others than the Union Jack or the Star Spangled Banner, and for that, Jamaica is eternally grateful to its ambassadors - to its champions.
There is nothing that makes men equal like sport. It does not matter the size and, to an extent, the wealth of a country, it does not matter the social class of a competitor, and it does not matter the colour of a man's skin.
talent
In sport what matters are a man's talent, a man's ability, a man's character, his dedication and determination, and then a man's skill. That is the difference between winning and losing, nothing else, and that is why, on so many occasions over the years, little Jamaica has been able to leave behind some bigger and much richer countries in the sports arena.
Over the years, Jamaicans have simply lifted their glasses in a toast to their champions and over those years, but for a few who were in need, who asked, and who received a token something from the Government or from well-wishers, the champions have been satisfied, or so it appeared, with the celebrations and the salutations which accompanied their performance.
Times have changed, however, and those who perform, the winners, are now looking for compensation, they expect good compensation, they expect a piece of land, a house, a car and a bag full of money, an they are driven by personal ambition, by boyhood dreams and aspirations they did it all for themselves and not for Jamaica, Jamaica benefitted and they do deserve reward, financial reward.
The question is however, can Jamaica afford to properly compensate their sportsmen and sportswomen.
To me, the answer is no.
To me, Jamaica is, at this time, a poor country. It is struggling to find jobs for its people, it is struggling to provide first-class education for its people - to fund the schools, to properly pay its teachers, to provide proper toilet facilities for a number of its schools. It is struggling to provide proper health care for its people, to provide drugs and to pay its nurses and its doctors, it is struggling to provide running water for a number of people, and it is struggling to protect its people from criminals and to pay its police.
psyche of a nation
As important as sport has been and is to this country, as important as winning is to the psyche of a nation, the welfare, and especially so the health and the education of the people, must be more important to the country, to the people who are in need, than winning in the sports arena. Right now, the responsibility of the Government is to provide facilities for recreation and some competition in our schools and in our communities. After that the ball should be in the court of sport associations.
When it comes to serious competition, to the provision of facilities for the development of talent in order to compete internationally, that should be and must be the responsibility of the clubs and the national associations with help, as sponsors, from the business sector.
Until the Government realises that there is money to be made from sport and that sport can contribute to the nation's budget and therefore to the country's financial situation and the plight of the poor, until the Government is prepared to treat sport as an industry, at least as a tourist attraction, this country, as great as our sportsmen and sportswomen have been, as much as they deserve something for their dedication and their commitment, cannot afford to compensate them for their contribution.
Times have changed and there can be no question about that.
Times have changed so much that some of our sportsmen and sportswomen, those who keep saying that this country has never done anything for them, forget that but for the facilities put in place by the Government in schools and in communities, but for the little financial contributions here and there to help out a sportsman or a sportswomen in need, but for the money of the business sector to sponsor things like coaches, trainers and competitions, and but for time spent with them by volunteers, they probably would never have been anywhere farther than Port Royal.
