Tony Becca
JAMAICANS ARE great at sport. They are masters in sport and based on their magnificent performance in almost every sport, and especially so in cricket - even if that is years ago, in boxing - even if that is some time ago, football, track and field and netball, there is no question about that.
Jamaica, in fact, has been so great and is so great tha there is no snow in sunny Jamaica, Jamaicans have shocked the world with outstanding performances in the winter sport of bobsleigh.
As magnificent as Jamaicans have been in sport, however Jamaica is numbered among the best in the world of sport, even though thousands upon thousands of people around the world flock the arenas of the world to see Jamaicans in action, an they fly and sail into Jamaica to see, for themselves, the country, the environment, that produces such talented sportsmen and sportswomen, there is one question that should be asked about Jamaica and sport.
The question is this: do Jamaicans really love sport?
On the surface, and based on the way in which they talk about it, the passion with which they talk about it, Jamaicans really do love sport.
Deep down, however, one gets the impression that Jamaicans no longer love sport - at least not nearly as much as they once did in years long gone.
Not enough spectators
In the 1970s and before, sport attracted many, many spectators. Today, however, that is not so.
Today, matches, including cricket and football games, and more so cricket matches at any level barring Test matches, are played in empty stadiums before empty stands. And those who doubt that have only to look back at the Manning Cup final between Jamaica College and Bridgeport when only the grandstand at the National Stadium was used to accommodate the fans, at the Premier League's end-of-round final between Portmore and Tivoli at the Harbour View stadium, at the match between the All-Manning team and the Trinidad and Tobago schools team at Winchester Park, and at the recent series of trial matches to select the national cricket team.
Years ago, a Manning Cup final, for example, would have attracted at least twice the crowd that was present at this year's final. Years ago table tennis tournaments were held in the National Arena. Recently, the Caribbean Championships were held not at the National Arena but in the smaller, much smaller auditorium at the University of Technology. And the next question is, what is it that has caused the drop in attendance at sport events in this country?
In my humble opinion, it is quite simple: it is that Jamaicans no longer love sport for the beauty of sport, and because of that they turn out, not to see a good team in action, not to witness someone's skill and not to see a gripping contest.
As far as I am concerned, the fans today turn out simply to see their team win.
Probably because of other attractions, hardly any of them turn out to see a brilliant batsman at his best, a good fast bowler running in and letting the ball go at the speed of the wind, and a tricky spin bowler going through his ritual of flight, change of pace and two-way spin.
Hurting Jamaica's sports
As far as football is concerned, very few fans turn out to see a footballer racing down the wing, dummying one defender after another and leaving one or two on ground, to see a midfielder past a defender and to witness a blazing, curling shot from 30 yards sailing past the goalkeeper.
Whatever the reason, people in this country are not attending sports as they used to, and because of that, they are missing the entertainment which sport offers - the entertainment which others around the world are enjoying.
More important, however, by staying away, they are also hurting the full development of Jamaica's sport, and for two simple reasons.
Empty stands do nothing to motivate the young sportsmen and sportswomen in this country and, remembering that money is important for the development of sport, and especially so to present-day Jamaicans who want not only to remain where they are in the world of sport, but also to dominate the world in sport, on top of that, they do nothing to encourage sponsors.
Jamaica is already playing semi-pro football, next year cricket, hopefully, will be going semi-pro, netball has been talking about its desire to also go semi-pro, and it would really be great if cricket can follow football and netball can follow cricket.
The problem, however, is this: remembering that the government of this country has priorities to attend to and cannot, at this time, afford to underwrite semi-pro sports, this country can only support three semi-pro leagues if the people support them by watching the three sports.
Money is the key, and apart from showing that they love the three sports and want to watch them, apart from providing the atmosphere and apart from providing the environment which will motivate the players, the people, by their presence, will not only provide some money through the gates but will also, and most important, encourage sponsorship.
