BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE past three major football matches played in St. Kitts generated much talk along the corridors of the island, not merely because of the sporting value which they carried but also of the extra kick of entertainment that was added to the mix.
The first match took place on September 2 in which St. Kitts-Nevis came up against Puerto Rico, and in the second one the home team played St. Lucia on October 11 while the final game was held on Friday (Nov. 11) against Canada.
With each game commencing at 8:00 p.m. sharp, the pool of spectators was fully engaged and entertained from the beginning to the end of the 90 minutes allotted to each game. The entertainment emanated from the on-field players, the iron band and even from the persons who filled the neighbouring seats in the stands and bleachers.
But it did not stop there!
The sound of the whistle which ended each match was a signal for the contracted band to strike up the rhythm and provide a further two hours of entertainment for the many patrons.
The Nu Vybes Band International provided entertainment for the first and last matches with the Grand Masters Band entertaining the second match’s crowd.
Speaking exclusively with SKNVibes, Anthony Johnson, President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA), explained the origin of the idea for the marrying of sports and entertainment in this fashion.
“At the end of the day, sports is a form of entertainment. People go to sports not just to support the sport but because they want to be entertained. They want to get away from the stresses and strains of their own life. But in terms of the additional entertainment that we had, we wanted to make the game not just a football game, but an event that people would experience and would want to continue to experience in the future. So that was the inspiration behind marrying sports and entertainment.
“We wanted to make people at home in a very carnival-like festive atmosphere so that even if they don’t specifically like the results of the game, there is something else for them to be attracted to. This is not the first time we have ever done it. We have continued to develop it over time and certainly we will continue to do that.”
Because of the success of the ‘marriage’, Johnson indicated that sports enthusiasts and other members of the public could look forward to the same mix during future major games.
