Heroes On The Walls
Mon, May 15, '06
Only once do I remember entering a West Indian home and seeing a large poster of Sir Viv Richards up on a wall. I'm not a frequent visitor to other people's homes, so I cannot say how common it is, but it had been an arresting moment.
The regal visage of the Master Blaster invoked a sense of something powerful and magnificent, and it lifted my spirit with a sense of home pride.
Posters of idolised figures often provide the d?cor of a teen's room: sports, film and musical idols adorn walls and reveal something of the taste of the den's inhabitant. Sports stores routinely carry posters as part of their merchandise. If you go into a cricket ground outside of the region, chances are you will find an array of cricketers' images for sale among other paraphernalia: souvenirs, books, clothing, caps, gear, jewellery, that sort of thing.
The saga of West Indies cricket history pauses every so often to linger over the heroics of one of its extraordinary players. For more than a century, we have produced characters whose names still resonate among those who have cared to look back at the trail.
Why isn't it possible to find posters of West Indian cricketers on sale all over the Caribbean? They have been photographed endlessly; why have we not thought to convert photos into posters? It is an aspect of our cultural history. A picture provides a visual image; a poster on a wall is a constant reminder of a heritage.
In cricket circles, the story is told over and over of how players from contemporary senior squads do not know and cannot recognise former players of great stature. It is not as dismal a reflection on the youth who do not know as it is on those who do and have not seen the importance of passing it along.
In not handing over the baton of knowledge, they have deprived more than one generation of the opportunity to lift their heads up to celebrate their own. It has facilitated the tendency to adopt heroes only outside of their cultural space. Not that there is anything wrong with admiring people who have achieved greatness, but there is something uplifting about being able to claim the achiever as your own.
On the other hand, this absence of imagery and information about the people who have done this region proud has created a void in the place that serves as the trophy room of memory. This is the space that could be densely populated by heroes from among us that would provide a sense of lineage that serves to strengthen positive feelings of identity. Knowing what has been achieved under all kinds of circumstances can inspire and motivate.
Feeling and believing that nothing was created here, nothing splendid ever splashed on these shores, paralyses the mind to possibility. It overlays effort with a film of hopelessness and helplessness; a sense of the inevitability of mediocrity. What can make one rise to excellence? A sense of that it is possible to achieve.
Knowing that a difficult beginning is not a sentence to a pathetic end; that others have moved past it to achieve superlatives. We can help to provide that inspirational knowledge.
Within a year, there will be major cricket events in the region, it is as good a time as any to consider producing a series of posters of our cricket greats. If there has been reluctance to do it because of a fear that it may not succeed commercially, the environment is ripe now to make it worthwhile and feasible. In any case, the benefits alone in enriching our cultural legacy make it a superb investment for the future.
I am sure there are countless photographers with stacks of great shots that can be used in partnership with the cricketers to create something as exciting and inspiring as West Indies cricket used to be.
* This column is republished with permission from the NATION newspaper in Barbados where it first appeared.