Well done Warriors

But despite the Warriors not advancing to the Second Round, in the eyes of the entire country they are heroes, and in fact national heroes.

They finished the tournament playing Paraguay with the same warrior spirit of resilience that has won the acclaim of their people and others around the world. Warriors, we salute you. Despite coming into the tournament as 1,000-to-one outsiders, you faced down Sweden, England and Paraguay, teams which are perennial World Cup qualifiers. With true grit our Warriors shook off the label of “minnows” and “underdogs” that had been offered to them by some unaware commentators in the global media.

The real achievement of the Warriors was seen in the response of our people yesterday where, despite TT not getting through to the second round, nationals celebrated their never-say-die performance. Everywhere was a red sea of jerseys and TT flags.

While many fans expressed sorrow that the Warriors had not made it through, incredibly the overriding emotion that came to the fore was actually a swelling up of national pride.

The Warriors have united this country as never seen before. Not even in 1962 when we became an Independent country or 1976 when we became a Republic with our own Head of State, has there been such a feeling of oneness and an outpouring of love for our nation.

In this moment of mixed emotion, we would like to remind our readers of two simple facts about this World Cup which might be overlooked in the disappointment of the moment. Firstly the World Cup is designed to be an elimination competition, in which for every two winners in each group going through to the second round, there are also two losing teams which are eliminated.

Secondly, despite entering the competition as the lowest ranked of the 32 teams, Trinidad and Tobago has lasted longer in the tournament than at least seven countries who were eliminated by Monday — Costa Rica, Poland, Ivory Coast, Serbia/Montenegro, Iran, Togo, and of course Paraguay.

The Warriors’ wonderful legacy which it is now up to us to grasp. They have shown what this tiny country of one million is capable of when we all pull together. Although the Warriors’ achievement occurred on the football turf, they clearly gave us a lesson in nation-building that each of us can now apply to other areas of our lives. Let us each rededicate ourselves to this beautiful land. Let us each adopt the self-belief, determination and selflessness of the Warriors and apply it to our individual daily lives. Let us all keep our flags flying on our cars and in our houses and workplaces as a symbol of all of us rededicating ourselves to creating “Sweet T&T.”

We are confident the Government will suitably recognise and reward the achievements of the Warriors.

Meanwhile we say thank you Warriors for lifting this nation at a time when we face a host of social ills. Let us all celebrate this as a time of joy.

Well done Warriors!