Our Olympians should be celebrated

Olympics a gwaan again! What a joyful time eeh, peeps? Our athletes are upping the ante in Rio for the 2016 summer games. And naturally, Jamaicans all over the world are turning up the volume in celebration. Yeah man, patriotic pride is in style again and the volume dial pop off as we scream loudly and cheer proudly. All over the island Jamaican flags are selling like hot bread, and everybody and dem dog decked out in the national colours. Nice!

If you follow some of our people though, you'd never realise there's competition happening in over 300 different events in 28 different sport disciplines at the games. We only into the running part. So many of us never even started paying attention until the track and field events started. That's a pity. As I have said before, we should really have representation in many more areas. What you think?

We love fling stone and bottle, so we should have more throwers of javelin, discuss and shot put. And talking about shot put, the way we love shoot off our mouth about gun shot, we should have winning entries in all the shooting events as well.

pothole or sea

As for swimming, Jamaicans live on a land that's surrounded by water, right? And no matter where you are on the rock, you're never more than 25 miles from a body of water - whether river, spring, pond, pool, gully water, pothole or sea. Yet, most of us can't swim. Can you? Me, well I can do the butterfly - on a dance floor. And breaststroke and backstroke, well, I don't need water for that! As for diving, I only dive into my bed!

That's why I have to send maximum big ups to Yona Knight-Wisdom who flew our colours with distinction on the 3m springboard in diving. And truckloads of commendation to Timothy Wynter and Alia Atkinson for representing us in the pool. I'm especially proud of Alia for consistently keeping Jamaica on the international swimming map, and I offer her heartfelt congratulations for making the finals of the women's 100-metres breaststroke in Rio. She's in the world top 10 and that's a big, big deal. Alia, we love, respect celebrate you!

blaring vuvuzelas

Oh, and on that topic of celebration, look here nuh! I saw video clips of the now customary Half-Way Tree square public viewing party for the finals of the men's and women's 100 metre finals. That was excitement times one thousand! I know that many people supposed to have a hard time finding covers for their pots the following day. And I'm also sure the athletes could stay all the way in Brazil and hear the cacophony of clanging pot covers, banging drums and blaring vuvuzelas that filled the air as Jamaicans cheered for the athletes who are proving to the world that wi lickle but wi tallawah.

But answer me this question. Would you get cross, angry and miserable on me if I suggested that we Jamaicans could perhaps exercise just a toops more restraint when celebrating the exploits of our sporting heroes? Would you consider me a killjoy if I say we nuh haffi gwaan so loud, especially if we are somewhere where the excitement of our celebration may create disruption or cause confusion that could result in harm? Maybe it's just me, eh! After all I know people who would rather not go out with me because I have a problem with people who can't enjoy themselves without disturbing their neighbour. I'm the sourpuss who will get annoyed at the person who have to slap somebody hard, kick over their chair, roll on the floor, get up and run a lap or beat the nearest table, desk or wall just because a joke sweet them! Why dem can't just laugh? Why fi dem right to enjoyment have to infringe on somebody else's right to not be rendered deaf?

I've seen Facebook a post by one person who gleefully showed pictures of the EMS and police cruisers that turned up at her gate because neighbours called 911 after the screams went up for Usain's historic victory Sunday gone. And people got flat, SWAT teams were called in and terminals were evacuated at New York's JFK airport for the same reason. Yeah, people were cheering the men's 100m finals and apparently, nuff blank buss. Yeah, call me a party pooper, mi nuh care. But just imagine a heart patient getting caught in that!

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