St. Lucia as a country, one unit, has a rich heritage that is accentuated by the way we cook and the ways we enjoy ourselves. What then makes us so fundamentally different, in some respects, that it puzzles many who dare to pay attention?
The headline may be deceiving as this piece is not concerned with a competition between the north and the south but rather a comparison that explores a shift in behaviour in one particular area, sports.
This is a topic that we have explored before, however we were reminded glowingly last weekend of how bad it really is.
The St. Lucia International Masters Veterans Football Tournament took place in St. Lucia last weekend at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground bringing together teams and players from a number of countries including Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, The United States of America and Canada. Many of the participating players were former national players from those various territories. A wonderful spectacle as those teams were challenged by local veteran outfits from across the island on a surface that was prescribed for a proper international game.
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Admission was free. Nobody attended, outside of those who were associated with the various teams and those who were working or helping. Ok, to be absolutely truthful, a literal handful of faces did actually pop up but that is nothing in a facility with the capacity that it has.
Some may argue that this is a non-issue.
The cause for the lack of a local audience, many have suggested, was due to poor advertising but that is not factual as it was all over social media months in advance.
These empty seats are not unique to veterans football but rather all levels of football and seemingly all sports, particularly in the north of the island. These same scenes are evident at the Francis “Baba” Lastic facility in Gros Islet except when southern teams are participating. When two northern teams compete against each other, facilities are noticeably empty.
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If, for example, an Anse La Raye and a Choiseul crowd can assemble at the Gros Islet facility on an evening for cricket, how do we account for the lack of a Castries contingent?
It is believed that the support and interest in local sports has waned dangerously in the north of the island and that interest may never return as compared to reported increased numbers in and from the south.
A recent visit to an SPL cricket game in Choiseul one evening spoke directly to that point. A massive crowd assembled, featuring supporters and fans from Vieux Fort, Laborie, Canaries, etc. The same is normal for Phillip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort and the mini stadium in Soufriere.
It is strange though that bacchanal parties in the north are usually sold out even when they cost upwards of 300 dollars per person.
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The days of a packed Marchand Grounds or Mindoo Phillip Park are long gone. What has happened?
The situation must be disheartening for sports enthusiasts and particularly fledging sports men and women who crave the support of their respective community.
What is clear, if all of the information is considered, is that the priority of the most populated areas on the island seem to have little to do with sports and everything to do with fete, fete and more fete..
That is a worrying phenomenon.
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