I have returned from a wonderful six-week holiday with family and friends in Canada and am now back to reality. I did not touch base with anything or anyone in T&T, but did learn to my great dismay that Guyana had beaten Daren Ganga's team in the T-20 tournament–hard to believe when one considers the powerful lineup of our national X1. Why do these things happen when they should not? However, while in "foreign" I had the pleasure of experiencing some great sporting events among which were: Attending an exciting 1-1 league football game between Toronto Football Club (TFC) and Dallas at a sold-out (attendance 20,000) stadium for which we had the best seats in the house courtesy the generosity of business associates of my son-in-law.
Unfortunately "best seats" did not mean much for the first half, as it poured cats and dogs and we all huddled under our one dollar plastic raincoats which everyone had to purchase since no umbrellas are allowed in the stadium, and of course, being "foreign", not one umbrella could be seen. The quality of play was not quite World Cup standard, but high enough for us to enjoy a memorable game. When TFC scored, it was amusing to hear their fans rub salt into the wound of the Dallas keeper, chanting repeatedly "It's all your fault! It's all your fault!" I nearly suffered a stroke when I saw the price of the tickets (Can.$93 or TT$587) and would definitely have had a stroke had I had to pay for my wife and myself !
Giving myself a once in a lifetime gift to purchase a seat in the "Gold" section of York University stadium to see my current sports hero Rafael Nadal play in the Canadian Open Tennis Championship in Toronto. In normal circumstances I would have had to win a lottery to even think of buying a ticket costing TT$885, but Christine my daughter who is a sports nut said "you only live once and there are no other tickets available" so off we went and had a great time walking around the vast compound and eating a mile-thick hamburger before the evening matches started. When we arrived, Rafa was warming up on Court Six, but the crowd watching was so thick, we got only occasional glimpses of him. Nadal was playing Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland and when the players walked on to Centre Court the applause for Rafa reached the skies and each point he won was greeted with screams of delight–there was only one lonely voice occasionally shouting "come on Stan", probably his mother! Christine kept feeling so sorry for him!
In the first set, Rafa won a thrilling tie-break 13-11 after which Wawrinka faded quietly, but regardless, I can forever claim to have seen the wonder kid Rafa in action–rather like seeing Brian Lara bat. I mention the price of tickets to illustrate how foreign exchange rates can affect a holiday. Watching on television, Trini jockey Anthony Stephen win the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, riding Golden Moka to a very easy victory in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie track. In a small eight-horse field, the winner was always up on the pace and when they turned for home the only question was by how many lengths he would win. Emile Ramsammy rode Mobthewarrior owned by Trini Andrew Fredericks but he (the horse not Andrew!) ran fifth for the entire trip. Not long after I saw Anthony win on a horse named We are Golden, so gold was his colour at least temporarily.
The reason why this victory meant so much to me personally was because I well remember the day (circa 1991) two new apprentices, Anthony Stephen and Dilip Amarsingh, came into the jockey room at the Savannah for the first time and asked if they could sit near to me "so you could tell us what to do". As time went on, Anthony and I became good friends–confiding in me a lot–and he won both Apprentice and Open Jockey championships winning several big races. I got to know his wife and kids and when his father died at a very early age, I tried to help both Anthony and younger brother Andy (also a jockey) who now lives in Saskatoon, married to a Canadian and with whom I still keep in contact. Anthony rode successfully for several years in Macau and at Hastings track in Vancouver, and for the past three years has tried to establish himself at the Woodbine and Fort Erie tracks, so hopefully, winning the Prince of Wales Stakes will promote his profile and riding ability.
Learning how to appreciate the tactics, strategies and importance of team work in the grueling 3000 km (approximately) Tour de France cycling race which involves 20 stages of approximately 250km each covering several flat road rides and individual time trials but also the most vicious mountains you would ever want to see much less climb on a bike. For the past five years I have watched most of each Tour on television, and this year the Spaniard Alberto Contador won for the third year beating Belgium's Andy Schleck in a most thrilling encounter with a mere 38 seconds separating them at the finish. Imagine riding 3000km up hill and down dale over 20 days and be separated by 38 seconds at the end. Watching the leaders beat up on one another day after day was something else, but equally intriguing was seeing how the team minions protected their "stars" from the ever present dangers along the perilous climbs.
I do not know if Lance Armstrong and others ingested drugs to allow them to perform as they did, but what I do know is that one has to be totally mad to even think of entering the Tour de France! I was told a "good one" concerning outstanding African-American sprinter of yesteryear, Harry Jerome who I believe ran at Southern Games in 1960's. When he ran down the field in a race which he was expected to win easily, an insensitive reporter asked "is this the blackest day in your career?" to which Jerome calmly replied: "not really. I was just as black yesterday!" I love these clever remarks! I will end by wishing our Under-17 Soca Princesses best of luck in the World Cup, and congratulate and thank the organisers, referees, linesmen and other officials for their dedication, commitment and hard work before, during and after the event. We are proud of you!
