BOLT CANT BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME

Should Usain Bolt join the delegation to Singapore to promote the Youth Olympics and help his country get the money needed to acquire new synthetic tracks for the National Stadium and Stadium East?

There has been much debate about that issue this week. Minister Olivia Grange claims she had requested of Bolt’s management team, his presence on a mission to the Signapore to get much needed help for this country’s shoddy facilities. Bolt’s management team has said they don’t think it will be possible, given that he has prior commitments.

That is where the story should have ended.

Usain Bolt has been the beneficiary of much love, honour and attention from the lawmakers of this country, but in the last two years, especially, he has paid them back 10-fold, if not more.

Puma, Bolt’s shoe sponsor, said earlier this year the super athlete’s media market value to the company is in excess of US$350 million dollars. That is money Puma would have had to spend if they were to promote their products using traditional advertising.

I doubt very much if Jamaica has spent that amount of money in 10 years marketing this country but I am certain that should Bolt’s media market value to Jamaica be calculated it would amount to much more than what it would cost Puma. Through Bolt and his exploits, the Jamaican flag has been raised six times at the last two major championships but it extends way beyond that. Askmen.com recently conducted a poll – non-scientific, yes, but more than half-a-million people from across the world responded to the poll that named Bolt as the second most influential man in the world. Where is he from? Jamaica. Not Puma; Jamaica.

Everywhere he goes, the first thing that comes to people’s minds is “That’s Usain Bolt. He is from Jamaica.”

If Bolt should never lift another finger or wear Jamaica’s colours again we could never pay him back for the positive imaging he has helped this country with. Let me remind you. Over the past few years, Jamaica’s international image has taken a beating, justifiably so because of our ridiculous murder rate and our fragile economy.

Bolt has helped in terms of damage control by projecting some of the things that are still great about this country.

So if he chooses not to go on a seven-day mission to Singapore we should just let it go. The man has other commitments that are critical to building his brand and ensuring his future so that when his career is over he does not have to worry about taking care of his family and himself. He has to because Jamaica certainly isn’t going to. For all the goodwill he would have earned Jamaica, should be break his leg tomorrow and his career ends, this country would forget about him in the time it took for him to set the world record in Berlin.

Bolt has given Jamaica leverage, something that it can use in future negotiations as it hopes to create a proper sports industry that will earn valuable millions of dollars for this ailing economy.

Leave Bolt alone. He will help when he can. I am sure of it, but when he is not able to, we should be thankful that we can turn to him when we really need to.
                                                                                           -30-