Sometimes when I hear people say things on radio here in Jamaica, I just have to shake my head and wonder what kind of thought process went into the comment before it was allowed to escape free into the universe.

There was a discussion I overheard this week about whether or not the athletes who represented Jamaica so well at the 30th Olympiad in London this past summer should be tangibly rewarded for their efforts.

When the Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup in 1998, they were promised house and land and everything. However, track and field athletes who represent their country, including those who won medals meaning they are the very best in the world, should get nothing?

Anyone who believes this has a screw or two loose in their heads. The first thing people need to understand is that people like Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the exceptions to the rule that athletes are wealthy. Those who became wealthy did so because they have built upon their brands. The majority of the athletes out there struggle with day-to-day expenses like the rest of us, only they need to eat well and sleep well and receive good health care if they are to be the very best in the world. How many of us are saddled with that responsibility?

pay cheque

Most of us go to work and go home for about 25 days each month and collect a pay cheque. Many of the athletes who represent this country at the major championships have to find money to fly to the respective meets across the globe. Some have the benefit of having meet organisers pay their way but to some, they have to find their own way.

Take Jason Morgan, for example, the national discus record holder; he literally has to drive cross country and pay entry fees to get into meets just to be able to compete and get recognised marks so that one day he will be invited to a meet where he will be paid to compete.

When it comes to people like Bolt and Blake et al, why shouldn't they be rewarded? Yes, they make millions but the country also benefits tremendously from their exploits. Whenever Bolt competes he is associated with Jamaica. Whenever he wins, which is often, you get to see the Jamaican flag and hear foreign commentators mention how great Jamaica is. Now, for you who think he should be not be rewarded, let me ask you this: Do you think the Government of Jamaica can pay for the media market value that Bolt and his fellow medallists bring to Jamaica?

exposure

When Bolt won in Beijing four years ago and again in Berlin in 2009, his media market value was estimated at more than US$350 million. Media market value is the amount of money that Jamaica or Puma, his shoe sponsor, would have to pay to get a similar amount of exposure in conventional media.

Armed with that information, I now urge you to take a look at the tabled Estimates of Expenditure for tourism advertising for any year for this country and see if it is equal to US$350 million or approximately J$31.5 billion. So, in real terms Jamaica owes our athletes a debt that they will never be able to repay.

As for those who think the athletes only run for themselves, tell you what, come 2016 let all the athletes stay home or go run for another country. Who will you cheer for then? A lot of you are already hating Sanya Richards for representing the USA because you feel she should be representing us.

Since the athletes are running for themselves, then why should it be a problem when we have no one wearing the national colours winning medals?

The way I see it is we should give the athletes everything we can because other than their accomplishments, we would have little to cheer about even after 50 years of so-called Independence.

Give the athletes their due and be thankful because what we owe them and we most certainly cannot afford to pay.

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