IF YOU ARE a Jamaican living in Jamaica you would have to have been comatosed or vacationing on Mars to have not felt the ultimate 'rush', 'high', 'unbridled passion' that was transmitted from the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, between Friday August 13 to Saturday August 21, 2004.
Finishing with final medal standings of five - two gold, one silver, and two bronze - is no mean feat. While the tally is less than the 13 predicted, the worth of them all - especially those two gold pieces seems to make everything 'feel alright' (Bob Marley - One Love).
And for those who made sure they watched the races live, they know the real meaning of 'feel alright.'
There were disappointments. Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt certainly did not fulfil many expectations, no Jamaican male relay team competing in a final (the first time in many an Olympic Games) and no medal from our stylish female hurdlers.
But the Olympic Games is the greatest sporting stage in the world and it takes no prisoners and demands excellence.
Yet even the non medalling performances were still so special - Asafa's (9.94 sec) fifth in a blistering 100 metre final, Trisha's fourth in the triple jump that would have given her silver medal in any other olympics, Aleen - 'the vibes mistress' fourth place in the 200 metres, Jumping James' fourth place in the long jump and Maurice's fourth in the 110 metres hurdles, will all be remembered.
Like last Thursday we again ask Jamaicans if they appreciate that their country of a mere 2.6 million people, ranking seventh in the world on the track at the end of the Games of 2004 in Athens, is a superpower in Track and Field?
Prime Minister PJ Patterson felt inspired to remove the shackles of the law and proclaim a public holiday on November 17, 1997, the day after the Reggae Boyz simply qualified to go to the World Cup in France. We wonder what inspirations he got over the last mind twisting 10 days at Jamaica's performance in Greece?
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