Buff Bay abuzz over Georges' feat

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:54 AM

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BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor

Sunday, November 08, 2009

There is a buzz about the sleepy seaside town of Buff Bay, which is located on Jamaica's north-east coast.

And the excitement sweeping the Portland community is certainly not triggered by the arrival of the circus or by some large-scale business development promising jobs and hope for a better life.

Cecile Williams prepares jerk chicken for sale at last Wednesday's Digicel Premier League match-up against Village United. (Photos: Everard Owen)

Its new-found joy, by all accounts, is situated on the "success" of a football club, one which is making sporting headlines on the national front with its exploits on the field of play.

St Georges Sports Club - a contender in the nation's top football tournament, the Digicel Premier League (DPL) - have soared to unprecedented heights by making their first final, creating their own piece of history in the process.

Though they are a long way off from taking the championship trophy, St Georges have propped up spirits in this rural town by surging into the first end-of-round final of the DPL where they will match skills with league champions Tivoli Gardens today at the National Stadium. Incidentally, Tivoli handed the Portlanders their only defeat so far this season.

For Tivoli, this is just another final, but for St Georges and the good folk of Buff Bay and its surroundings, this is their crowning moment.

Member of Parliament for West Portland Daryl Vaz (right) watches last Wednesday's game against Village United at Lynch Park with Paul Young.

Who knows what manner of celebration will unfold in the quaint town should the 'Georgians' triumph and bring home the first-round spoils?

One thing is certain: there is no shortage of confidence that this and other trophies won't make the winding journey home to Buff Bay.

"I think this is the year when the Premier League trophy will be coming to this end of the island," says Delroy Ellis, a former St Georges player.

The confidence with which Ellis speaks would lead one to believe it may just be possible.

"I feel like St Georges on di way to go on an' win dis t'ing 'cause the team is training much harder," rattled off Oneil Ramsay, a blockmaker with B&A Hardware, which is a stone's throw from Lynch Park, the team's fortress.

Supporters speak about their team with reverence, eyes popping wide with excitement.

Cecile Williams was stoking the fire as he prepared jerk chicken for sale at last Wednesday's match-up against Village United when the Observer caught up with him. He predicted a Georges win. And so it was, 1-0 in favour of the home team which propelled them into today's final.

"I've been following this team from they were playing in Division One, and I will be going to town (Kingston) on Sunday (today) to watch them play in the final," he said.

Not letting the opportunity slip for a bit of free advertisement, Williams said: "Me chicken is the best round here and the players love to eat my chicken. They like the neck, liver and gizzard, too, and that's why they are so good."

Taxi operator Lascelles 'Paper' Senior says he often carries the players free of cost, adding that fans attending away games are not that lucky.

"In the evenings I look forward to taking the 'ballers home to Port Maria or drop them off at Buff Bay square, and on Sunday I use a Hiace bus to take the supporters to games, but they have to pay," he noted.

Perhaps the critical and most sobering comment came from Rupert 'Booty' Sweeny, a dreadlocked peanut vendor who had a rack of the Jamaican favourite wrapped around his arm ready for sale.

"I feel good about it because I know that the more they win, the more business for me as more crowds will come to the games. When they are winning it goes further because I'm able to send the 'yutes' (children) to school. Right now this team is important to the community," he said.

His comments were endorsed across the board as Buff Bay is a community that depends mainly on farming and fishing for survival. Little else supports the economy.

From the surrounding areas, coffee and bananas are grown, from which the proceeds are streamed into sustaining life in the town and its rustic outposts.

"It's (success of the team) a big boost for the parish and it shows what hard work and determination can give," said Member of Parliament for West Portland Daryl Vaz.

"Full kudos must go to the players, the management and the supporters of the team," he added.

Vaz has remained supportive of the club, including the area of monetary assistance.

But not to be forgotten is the small cluster of businesses that has played its part over the years in lending a hand, even during the down time of the club.

"It's a very good feeling the position that they (St Georges) are in and I will continue to support them through good and bad. If they want financial or material support I will give it to them," said Arthur Tobin, operator of B&H Hardware.

Though the team is on a roll, Tobin notes he would like to see more fans coming into the venue on match days.

"I'm not that comfortable because we're still seeing empty seats at games," said Tobin, a member of the management committee of the club.

Philbert Williams, operator of the Texaco gas station in the heart of Buff Bay, says the team's revival and steady progress are benefiting the community in various ways.

"I'm on the streets and people who never used to talk about football are talking about it now. The morale of the team is certainly up and that has also lifted spirits in the community," he told the Sunday Observer on a visit to the area on Wednesday.

But there is a cost that comes with success, and nobody knows this better than club president Everton King.

"It's tough, but we'll be working with the minister (Vaz) in trying to get more sponsors because to attract and keep quality players, we have to be paying salaries and that alone can run you about a $1 million a month, plus another $1 million to keep other aspects of the programme going," he explained.

"But naturally we feel elated (with the success of the club), especially with the amount of work that we put in in getting the programme going. It's great to see football coming alive on this side of the island again," added King.

King, who works full-time with cellular phone company Digicel which also supports St Georges, said confidence is high the Portland club could cause an upset.

"Ultimately we'd want to win the league and... hope we can make a real push for it. The players are more mature in handling the rigours of the league and, of course, conditioning in pre-season and camaraderie of the players are making the difference this time around," he noted.

In their third season in the nation's top competition, their success so far has been attributed to a new coach, a strong pre-season and players with renewed attitude.

"I think the coach is doing the work by getting the players' condition up there because where they used to lose in the latter stages of games because of a lack of fitness, that's where they are now winning," noted Reid, a former player.

According to store operator Sophia Evans, "This season the players are more dedicated and are approaching the game like a business."

Omar 'Yankeevich' Hernandez, a self-styled entertainer, believes the overall team effort is the inspiration.

"I believe coach Braxton Hyre and captain Jermaine Taylor are making the difference. they're all working together. Also the management is working hard so that the 'ballers are comfortable and can concentrate on the game more," he stated.

Having gone through 11 matches in the first round and losing only once, St Georges, on 24 points, have scored 12 goals and conceded only three for the best defensive record in the league to date.

Without a hint of conceit team captain Taylor, a national defender, said his leadership in defence has played a crucial role in the team's resurgence.

"It's a great feeling to know that I'm here to lead them, as a national player, and as you can see we've only conceded three goals, so that is showing that we're doing something right around the back," he noted.

"The management and the fans are so good to us, so we're trying our best to make them happy. We're thinking that we can win the title for them," added Taylor, a former Harbour View player.

President of the Portland FA, Raymond Grant, said the club's success comes as "no surprise to me".

"They've always been a dominant team in the parish and the region. the team is so influential that young players coming up are not necessarily looking for players overseas to emulate, they're emulating their local players," said Grant.

The team's home ground, Lynch Park, was named after former long-serving member of parliament Leopold Lynch and has been the scene of many 'lynchings' of top-ranked DPL teams over the past two-and-a-half years.

Boasting a large ground with scattered seating stands and a club house, Lynch Park is enclosed by the Caribbean Sea to the north and verdant hills to the south.

Though there was no supporting data, "local historians" claim St Georges - originally cricket-oriented only - had its birth more than 100 years ago, during the British colonial rule of Jamaica.

It was said to be located in the old parish of St Georges, which was later incorporated into Portland.

But the football portion of the multi-sport club as we know it today "was a merger with Buff Bay United in 1982".

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