The merry monarch has come and gone for yet another year. It's no secret that I consider myself a Carnival baby, so I try to take in all the shows and most of the activities leading up to, for many, two of the most enjoyable days of the year.
Because my previous employer was heavily involved in sport and culture, I made many friends in the entertainment business, so I always keep an eye out for them to see what's happening with their events and/or careers. This year, my prediction for the Panorama winner went awry after hearing BP Renegades in the semi-finals. I thought that it was a foregone conclusion and that they would play their way to glory again for successive wins. They reminded me of when All Stars in 1980 played Scrunter's classic 'Woman On The Bass' in the semi-finals and you just knew then who the Panorama winner was. But my oh my, was 'Despers' anything but excellent on the night? It proved that old familiar saying that big players show up for the final. My disappointment continues to be in Tokyo. What has happened to the band? I remember when they were Carib Tokyo and should have won Panorama the year they played the Clive Bradley's arrangement of Merchant's 'Pan In Danger'. They had a couple of strong leaders and I felt that they were ready to compete with the big bands every year. Unfortunately, their strong leaders left the band and they suffered from a lack of discipline, and instead of going forward, the band regressed; what a pity. Sadly, the sponsorship soon ended and I was hoping that Carib would get involved in another steelpan sponsorship as the company deserves a big name band to sponsor. Carib and steelpan music should go hand in glove.
Then, there is Iwer George. What more can anyone say about Iwer? He would always have these enthralling ideas and would come to see me all excited about a project. When he was criticised by a couple of his fellow calypsonians about his soca songs often being meaningless or even lyrically challenged, he came up with a great kaiso called 'Think It Over' and he brought down the house at 'Spektacula' Forum receiving four to five encores in a night. What a career he has had. His collaboration with Kes, who has himself had a fantastic Carnival season (perhaps his best yet?) brought many of us great pride and joy to be Trinbagonians.
Although Super Blue himself was not in the winners' row, how proud he must be of his daughter Terri Lyons as she easily won the Calypso Monarch and he was right there on hand to give her support. Super is another stalwart who never seems to go away. What great memories he has given us and 'Fantastic Friday', like some of his other soca hits, will remain etched in the annals of Soca music in this country.
Thankfully, some of the promoters still remember me, so I happily went to a few events. I normally play J'ouvert but, got blanked and at the same time didn't bother to play mas so, you must all be wondering, including the sports editor, why am I writing about Carnival? Could it be that I am seeking a column in the features section?
No need to continue wondering. I am simply trying to illustrate how difficult it is for our sportsmen and sportswomen to fully concentrate around the Carnival period. While all your friends and family are having a great time going to the fetes etc, athletes have to remember to continue training or practising in whatever discipline. Back then, local cricket started in early January and it mattered not when Carnival was; the cricket grounds were ready as both cricket and football were far more seasonal than today. Cricket was from January to the first week in June and football was from June to December. As can be seen, cricket is played all year round with a late start in January, but players also have 50 over and T20 cricket to compete in. Footballers in our professional leagues go nearly 8 to 9 months of the year as that is the only way they improve.
The feeling is that when our players are away from T&T for the Carnival period, their performances are much better. However, the T&T cricket team of years gone by did not adhere to the principle, as on many Carnival weekends when a regional game was carded, we would lose in 2 and 3 days and the team would be flying back to T&T on Carnival Saturday night or sometime on Carnival Sunday; one may also see a few of them on the road for Carnival. Thankfully, CWI has kept away from scheduling fixtures for us on Carnival weekends although our team flew out on Carnival Monday for St. Kitts & Nevis; but that is the life of a dedicated athlete.
Think of the Trinbagonians who are in Sri Lanka having to represent the region in the ODI's and T20s; think of our young women footballers in the Dominican Republic trying to get qualification for the country in the FIFA Women's Under-20 World Cup. They must be bombarded with photos and videos of everyone having a good time. But kudos to them as they have chosen the sport and have to be dedicated, and I am certain that they all are.
In today's world, sport is so competitive that our athletes have to train harder, be more focused, be fitter, be mentally prepared and be more professional than their opponents. That is the only avenue to success and achieving your goals.
Editor's note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the views of any organisation of which he is a stakeholder.