THE EDITOR, Sir:
THIS WEEK was one of those moments in life when my heart swelled with pride, proud to be Jamaican. With all that is wrong in Jamaica today, our staging of what the IAAF president called the best IAAF World Junior Championships could not have come at a better time.
Congratulations are certainly in order for the local organising committee, Kingston 2002 and the management, coaches and athletes of Team Jamaica. There is no greater honour than representing one's country and everyone of our athletes wore the national colours with pride and they represented us well. Our expectations were surpassed and for the six nights that I watched the performances I was proud that they were representing me.
And what can I say about the fans that came out. I must confess that on the first two nights I left the stadium with a feeling of sadness that our athletes and indeed all the other athletes from all over the world, were doing so well and there was an almost empty stadium watching.
Friday evening picked up appreciatively and on Saturday the atmosphere was even better; but it was yesterday (Sunday) that brought back memories of 1997 when Jamaica qualified for World Cup France 1998. The vibes in the stadium were just awesome, we laughed, we sang, we cheered, indeed we roared, we danced and yes, we shed tears. Watching our flag being hoisted was a very emotional affair, especially when that was combined with the playing of the National Anthem. The choir of 35,000 must have been heard for miles.
I must confess that when I attended the official opening of the National Stadium a few weeks ago, I was very nervous. Would the stadium be ready? Could we really pull it off? And pull it off we did and in tremendous proportions. Yes, there were some hiccups but in the end it was all good.
As I stood watching the fantastic fireworks display lighting up the night sky, I was awash with emotion, but the overpowering one was, if only this feeling of oneness and togetherness could be maintained throughout Jamaica every day.
I am, etc.,
KAREN MADDEN
Kingston
