Archived Boards > 2006 World Cup - Germany
Serious questions: Let's pledge to demystify the aura of England and .....
AB.Trini:
Malcom Gladwell's"Blink"a book illustrating how we make decisions and how perceptions govern our behaviours from our personal beliefs to the impact of marketing on us have prompted me to examine the way in which we are psychologically challenged due to perceptions. [/i]
What resonated with me, as I begin 'gearing up' for my series of threads on the mental preparations for our Warriors to approaching the World Cup games, is how the book also tries to show why some people are brilliant decision makers and others are not Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others stumble into error. What implications could I find here for TNT Warriors?
With this book in hand, I switched the channel to the football game between Liverpool / Portsmouth game. With no affinity to any of the teams. I simply began analyzing players who could pose challenges to TNT. I began examining the play making and the pace of the game and I began asking myself and pondering on the following:
What makes English players any better than us?
How is it that a nation like Brazil is able to have this aura of football greatness?
How much of how we approach playing those countries are intertwined to our on psyche?
No win creating a sense of perception of BEST, one has to figure how that may impact our players psyche?
Take for instance the fact that the core of our players ply their trade in England presumably because it has one of the best football leagues.
If you want to play against the best you have to play in England
In England there are superlative degrees of league play
Presumably the best players are in the EPL
Therefore if a player is apt at that level, they are not with the best.
Conversely, If all of the English team are made up of players at that level, they must be the best. Therefore by comparison, we are going up against the very best.
But how many collective years, legacy and perceptions did it take to develop this thinking? and what would it take to destroy the myth? (a victory of course)
Are the English players individually better or are they the product of a training system or is it the frequency of plying at a higher level more competitive level against players of a higher caliber?
If this is the case what are the odds of countries like ourselves ever competing on an even field with countries like England? How do we level the playing filed? Should they be penalized for having such a solid infrastructure for football as oppose to countries who do not?
How do we create that level of infrastructure in TNT or in the Caribbean? This is not an easy task considering that we have been culturally patterned to degrade and to stratify our abilities. Consider the notion of schooling: some of us attended schools based on an exam and we have ideas about intellectual capacity based on the schools we attended or others attended. Likewise that egocentric thinking could be analogous to the ways in which some of us glorify England, it's leagues and some of its players. Is it any wonder that when our team finally encounters England, that they may have a huge psychological hurdle to overcome even before they play the game?
I say done all the talk of EPL on the board stop talking about all them foreign players as the best, and leh we focus on we own players , systems and start creating our own heroes right here in we own yard!! Too much focusing on EPL on T.V , too much glorifying the EPL teams . Why have we allowed ourselves to become addicted to idolizing in the wrong area when we have to devote energies to pumping up ' our own PL?
I would say that with the core of our players on our team playing in the U.K., we are halfway on our way from demystifying the aura of greatness from teams like England.
My humble opinions
elan:
I was thinking along similar lines this morning and I came up with a question. Your questions
(
--- Quote ---What makes English players any better than us?
How is it that a nation like Brazil is able to have this aura of football greatness?
How much of how we approach playing those countries are intertwined to our on psyche?
No win creating a sense of perception of BEST, one has to figure how that may impact our players psyche?
--- End quote ---
) to me, alludes to or guide my thoughts along the lines of another more primary question as related to the psycodynamics of the footballing traditions in Trinidad and Tobago as opposed to the rest of the world. Why do we play football? What purpose does it signifies? Making the participation in such a sport significant to who we are, or who we become as individuals? As communities? As a nation?Â
I believe that in order to create a feasible structure which will nurture the future of our nation, enabling us to create and sustain an indetity within the ranks of football, we must first understand as a whole, why we play football?
AB.Trini:
Does it not stand to reason, that if our local sponsors could buy air time or braodcast rights for the EPL, then who is promoting and what financing is there to deploy for the game at a similar level in our own land? why would broadcasters want to broadcast our game and risk the chance of producing world wide followers for what we have ? Could they risk the competition? Even the world of sports reek of politics and supression of the oppress.
Elan just observe how many really want to tackle these issues; nah they more comfortable talking about the results of the EPL and they foreign heroes.
The atmophere around intercol back in the sixties was to me the ultimate; we reinforced players who could put on a show and 'beats' man till tehy fall out they shoe; foot ball was entertanment not a business.
How do we transform the game into an 'entertainment business' and mantian the integrity of all those involved?
AB.Trini:
allyuh pay attention to this and take it seriously; start 'vibising up' we team!! forget all that EPL nonsense.
elan:
The media and financial sector investing in our local football would be a great start to establishing a common footballing tradition within our environment. Building heroes from our local leagues through constant and consistent exposure to the public will give rise to a new pride and belief in who we are. It will also allow for the players themselves to become more committed and dedicated to improving their game.
Makes me remember the words to a calypso from Christopher "Tambu" Herbert    Â
  ".....so leh we love, we calypso, and leh we love, up, de limbo
  and believe in the steelpan, for the next generation
  leh we love, up, we culture, our own we must nurture
  is then we're on the road, to a brand new mode..."
As you rightly said Alberta, it can start with the media being responsible to to the villages, and towns, and to the nation in assisting to foster a greater tradition with football and other sports. Â By instilling in the youths of the nation a pride. A new found pride which will burn deep into their soul enabling them to see further than the sweat on an afternoon, but to see themselves in the colors of, Jabloteh, or W' Connection, or North East Stars, as against seeing themselves looking at the EPL, or La Liga.
Sometimes I post here and it frustrate me that most times, my post seems futile cause most people just want to ol' talk. And the serious side of the game they do not want to deal with. So I guess we have to fix us first.
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