Paying the piper.
By: Fazeer Mohammed (Express).[/size]
I know many of us are upset about the price, but is the anger really directed at the man who is justifying it?
There is no question that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) suffers from a serious credibility problem, much of it having to do with the domineering presence of the Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West. Still, you have to give Jack his jacket for, as he implied on Tuesday, if people rush to pay a whole heap of money for coonoomoonoo events, there should be no problem filling up the Hasely Crawford Stadium on June 1 for the first-ever full international played by England in this country.
Whatever opinions we may have about Jack Warner as a football official and a politician, the inescapable reality is that it is only because of the considerable status and influence of the FIFA vice-president that the English are coming here, ostensibly to mark the centenary of the TTFF, but really to keep currying favour with a man who, as the undisputed head of CONCACAF, holds 35 votes in the palm of his hand, votes that the English authorities are desperate will go their way in determining the hosts of the 2018 World Cup finals.
Whatever our indifference to the apparent status of the England national team as a superpower in the game, you cannot avoid the almost magnetic attraction we seem to have towards their football. It is partially a legacy of colonialism, an almost automatic recognition that anything they do must be just about the best and therefore worthy of admiration and emulation. But it is also about exposure (most of us grew up watching English football on TV every weekend and know more about Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool than the Pro League teams right here) and effective global marketing to the extent that a top-of-the-table clash in the English Premier League can attract a television audience equivalent to almost one-sixth of the entire population of the planet.
So we're talking top drawer here in terms of the global marketplace. And top drawer means top dollar, so it isn't even a calculated risk to establish prices which are considerably higher than what would have normally applied, even for a critical World Cup qualifier just over two years ago.
Apart from the fact that a lot of people don't like Jack for whatever reason and remain suspicious of the accountability of the TTFF (how many times have we heard of the Federation incurring losses despite a ram-crammed stadium?), one of the other criticisms about ticket prices ranging from $300 to $1,200 is that the poor man, who might actually be the most loyal supporter of Trinidad and Tobago football, is priced out of the historic experience.
Well, and I know this may sound extremely harsh, that's just the way it is. Remember, this is not a gift to the nation but in many respects a business transaction, and people don't go into business to lose the shirts off their backs. So often we talk about sport not just being about Sunday morning recreation and healthy activity, but hard-nosed professionalism that requires a businesslike attitude if it is to survive and prosper in the modern environment.
This fixture between Trinidad and Tobago and England is a case in point, and the business people associated with the exercise are not in it purely for the love of the game or the generosity of their hearts, but for the profits to be made from it. They would have factored in already the negative publicity about the ticket prices, the occasional cussing they might get personally from some irate fan, and have calculated the value of the game based on what they perceive to be the appetite of the public to pay for it.
As for the true, true supporters complaining that they will be left outside, this situation is really no different from playing mas. The same grassroots people who grumble and get on about bandleaders digging out their eyes every year, yet somehow find the money because Carniva l just cannot pass them by, will also put together the three blue notes one way or the other, if they value what some may consider to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to the extent that they are prepared to make sacrifices in other areas so as not to miss out.
It's the same as with food prices. If it's ridiculously expensive and not really essential, just don't buy it. If you do, even grudgingly, you are essentially validating the market price because there is enough of a demand to keep it at that level.
Would I pay $300 to be at the game on June 1? No, but then again I'm not only cheap and stingy, but don't value seeing the England national football team in action to that extent (not to mention that it will also be the third day of the second cricket Test between the West Indies and Australia in Antigua).
However, my older daughter, who should be focusing on the first stage of her CAPE exams right now, is already harassing my soul about getting a ticket for her.
If she somehow manages to extricate the money despite the scorpions guarding my wallet, then Jack and the others associated with this financial beanstalk of a football game will be vindicated. Time will tell.
Anyone out there knows where I can get scorpion vitamins?
