Not everything deserves a parade

Please, read and comprehend carefully. ' Cause I know there must be others thinking the same thing

I write this as a lover of sports, not a critic of those who try. But it’s time we have a real conversation about how we measure sporting success in St. Maarten.

Lately, it feels like people are starting to feel that every time someone puts on a jersey, boards a plane, and competes, even if they come dead last or didn't even qualify, we roll out the red carpet when they get home. Airport greetings, speeches, cameras, the works. It's starting to look like we celebrate participation more than performance.

Don’t get me wrong. Encouragement matters. A pat on the back, a "good job," an "atta boy" or "atta girl", those things go a long way for any young athlete (read that again). But do we need a minister at the airport for every event? Do we need to call a press event when someone finishes 23rd out of 24? That’s not inspiration. That’s inflation. It waters things down.

We already "settle" too much on this island. We settle for mediocrity in education. We settle for mediocrity in government. Please, let's not let sports fall into that same trap. Let’s raise the bar, not lower it to suit our comfort level. Let’s teach our athletes to aim for excellence and recognize the difference between participation and achievement.

This isn’t about shaming anyone. Praise effort, yes, but celebrate triumph. Let the airport welcome be reserved for the ones who bring back medals, break records, or make real waves. That way, when it does happen, it means something. And for those who don’t place this time? Encourage them to work harder so that next time, they might.

We owe it to our young athletes to be honest, supportive, and motivating, not patronizing. Not everything deserves a parade.

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