Why not Soca-Chutney Warriors?
On a point of intellectual curiosity, why not Soca-Chutney Warriors instead of "Soca Warriors"?
"Here every creed and race finds an equal place." Am I correct? It does not matter that there are no Indians on the national football team: that is quite irrelevant. That is so because there no Indians skilfully worthy of playing football at this level and by extension being able to make the World Cup squad. But to sell us to the world by using a term which expresses only part of our culture is abominable.
How would the USA name their team and sell it to the world under similar circumstances? "Rock Warriors?" "Hip Hop Warriors?" "Jazz Warriors?" "Pop Warriors?" Or would they find an all-inclusive name which expresses their diversity of its white, black, Asian, Hispanic population?
In South Africa, there has been something called "affirmative action" which, simply put, was designed to give blacks their rightful position/place in the society. Hence, the rise of Black fast bowler Ntini and others on the cricket team, thereby transforming an exclusively white team into something more akin to the real South Africa.
It is quite the opposite with cricket in T&T: there are more Indians on the national team at the moment and even the captain Daren Ganga is Indian. Are we to call them "Chutney Cricketers"? Even the WI cricket team are led by two Indians Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Chutney cricketers?
Anil Mahabir
Cunupia
Trinidad Express Newspapers.