Orville Taylor | The Butler did it – no mourners, just Mona’s

He is Craig, not the ‘Buckla’ from the Oliver at Large series, so ‘him no follow backa nobody’. Butler is the surname and he is the controversial and even sometimes typified as divisive, connoisseur of football.

Head of the Mona-based Phoenix Football Academy that produced national striker, Leon Bailey, his own son Kyle and wunderkind Dujaun ‘Whisper’ Richards, among others, Butler did speak with great confidence that he was going to win the grail of Corporate Area schoolboy football, the Manning Cup. In fact, he was super optimistic, when interviewed in September before the 2023 season began. “The aim is to win everything and we are five million per cent confident.”

Never mind the bravado of Jamaica College (JC) which has won the trophy 31 times, the braggadocio of 16 time-winners Kingston College (KC), who, after a 30-year drought, finally rejoined the conversation three years ago, and of course, the quiet paradox of assuredness of Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell, the head coach of 22-time victors St George’s College (STGC).

Two Saturdays ago, Butler kept his word … well partially… and lifted the Manning Cup for the first time in the history of the school which began in 1979. Of note is that it was not a high school until 1988, and thus, was not eligible to play in the competition until then. With its fourth principal Keven Jones at the helm, it now has set a platform for future generations.

Doubtless, the invasion of the JC campus by some undisciplined over-exuberant students and supporters has left a red mark on the victory. True, it is not unprecedented for supporters to run on to the field of play, and those of us who have been following schoolboy football, and other sports on the whole, have seen many examples of this in the past. Rabbles clad in green, purple and navy blue and a few other colour combinations have embarrassed their schools before. Nonetheless, one must speak definitively, that such boorish behaviour is absolutely unacceptable; and where one is able to identify the perpetrators, then punitive action should take place.

MAJOR PROBLEM

There is indeed a major problem regarding the conduct of schoolchildren, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are too many incidents of concerts, fights, over-the-top celebrations, and other unacceptable mob behaviour making the rounds on social media. However, that will be the subject of another column.

Within the larger scheme of things, it is of little consequence that Mona lost the Olivier Shield, when the coach of Clarendon College, Lenworth ‘Teacha’ Hyde, turned his name into a sort of eponym and seriously tanned that of Mona. As a matter of fact, with a 4-0 thrashing, Butler saw Dr Jekyll; not Mr Hyde.

Nevertheless, what is lost on the supporters of ‘traditional schools’ is a greater social process. When Tivoli Gardens High eliminated STGC and then went on to win the cup for the first time in 1976, there were a few of us from low-prestige social backgrounds who quietly applauded, because of what it meant to our peers. In fact, my Western Kingston classmate kept chanting, “Ghetto ball, ghetto ball!” and we understood it, especially since the vice-captain of our own STGC, the ‘Pope’s’ school, was a dreadlocked Rastafarian, Clinton Murray who lived a mere kilometre up the road on the very same North Street.

On the weekend, a small group of us Georgians were examining the notion of Saint George’s being an ‘elitist’ school. The conclusion was that the institution we attended was an ‘elite’ institution; but not elitist. For readers, unfortunately including some of my cerebrally numb PhD colleagues who miss the subtlety or ‘bored versus board’, an elite institution simply means that those who enter or occupy the space are of a high standard and are held to it. However, it is a meritocracy.

ELITIST ORGANISATION

On the other hand, an elitist organisation is one which uses all kinds of extraneous means to preserve the status quo, often eliminating or barring many well-deserved individuals from entering. Those elements among us who want to scent mark the Manning Cup as the purview of the big five traditionals have little regard for football or the country within which we live.

In a truly egalitarian society which we aspire towards, I hope, we should feel proud that a school like Mona, with the necessary support, internally and externally, was able to do what the traditional elite St George’s College could not this year.

It is also a major statement that on Mona’s bench right beside Butler was Dane, the son of Georgian royalty, Ryan Peralto Sr. More significantly, the younger Peralto‘s own son chose to attend and represent Mona rather than the school of his grandfather, father and uncles. In a family, where even the emerald green of their party has a light blue tint, the teenager Donte Peralto in Mona colours is a major affirmation.

The fact is, Mona is on the whole a very good school that excels all-round and punches above its weight in academics as well, and many children grow where they are (trans) planted.

A sobering thought to those sycophants who behave as if the only thing that they have achieved in their lives is to have attended a big-name high school. By the time they got to their high school, it already was a great institution and a few of them have added a brick or two to the largest structure that they inherited.

It took KC 24 years after being founded, before it won its first of 16 liens, despite having only five or six other competitors in the mix. Even this math dunce understands ratio and probability. Mona is the best of 45 urban area teams. Like KC, a journey begins with one step.

Congratulations, Mona! Football and the country win when the unheralded triumph.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.