SPORTS AWARDS: A HIT BUT SOME BAD MISSES

The RJR Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards on Friday, January was a mix of excitement and tedium. Like in most other years the right persons were selected for the major awards, but in other areas the decision-making in production was extremely suspect.

I am a huge fan of track and field and over the years athletes from that sport have excelled at the very highest level and have dominated the numbers of those winning the sportsman and sportswoman of the year. Thankfully, 2015 was different.

Alia Atkinson, a swimmer, now a world champion and world-record holder, was more deserving than every other nominee not just because of her accomplishments in the pool but also because of what she represents. Her acceptance speech was the the first I have heard that contained real substance, not just fluff about “me” and “myself”. Her story is that of many of our athletes who have been ignored until they found stardom, ridiculed until they created history. “Too many times I have witnessed athletes being thrown to the wolves because of unrealistic expectations,” she said. “Nobody wins all the time, and if they do, I would love to meet them. Instead, we should praise the athletes for their perseverance to continue for greatness, their passion and spirit and their dedication to succeed for the green, black and gold.”

Not to be outdone, Walters, whose talents have taken him to the top of the boxing world, showed how mentally agile he is. Quickly realizing that it would be nigh impossible to top Alia’s profound presentation, he discarded his prepared speech and spoke from the heart and in doing so delivered an impressive ‘thank you’. For those who thought him a simpleton, he threw them off guard and delivered a knock out when he spoke about starting on the streets of St. James and using juice boxes for gloves and then seamlessly transitioned to fluent Spanish so his many supporters in Panama could hear and appreciate his gratitude to them. If only they could be allowed to deliver those speeches more often.

Notwithstanding the outstanding acceptance speeches, the entire affair was too long. Some say a tad, I say way too long. I don’t know what people were seeing on ‘live’ television but for those in the audience, break after break to accommodate commercials, had many becoming restless and annoyed. I would suggest pre-recording some segments and tightening the length of the run for all concerned.

It took me several drinks at the bar to take the edge off becoming stir crazy.

As for the entertainment side of things, whoever decided to hire Ikea or whatever her name is, ought to have sat her down before and explained to her that there is a time and place for certain types of songs. Having failed that, they should have sat her down afterwards and explained that those she delivered were not appropriate for the occasion. That she was not aware of that to begin while not really astonishing, was very disappointing.

We have a tendency in this country to discard our past as if to somehow believe that as long it is the past it has no importance or relevance to our future. I think it was Edmund Burke who said, “In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind.”

There is still a lot that our retired athletes have to offer. They also blazed the trail that today’s athletes followed and for that alone they should b e treasured and respected. Relegating them to the back of the room at a prestigious awards function is not cool on any level. These past athletes are the foundation on which today’s successes were built, take it away and everything comes crashing down.

Come next year, other sports are going to be recognized which means more time could be added to what has already become a ceremony too long. I daresay, in TV land nothing is impossible. There are ways to shorten the experience and make it more entertaining and engaging for those watching on TV and those on location.