LEGEND has it that for a few days after the Reggae Boyz drew 0-0 with Mexico in late 1997 to secure qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Jamaican criminals took a break.

It’s certainly fact that for a few days after that historic achievement, police blotters showed crime dipped significantly.

Such was the celebratory vibe as Jamaicans took to the streets making music with whatever instrument at hand, including pot covers, that then Prime Minister PJ Patterson saw it fit to declare a one-off public holiday.

It was a gesture that went down well with most Jamaicans, though there was considerable pushback from some quarters.

Beyond debate, that first-time achievement by Jamaica’s national men’s football team brought a sense of national unity and pride in a fashion rarely seen before or since.

We believe it’s fair to say that even our overwhelming appreciation of wonderful feats by our great sprinters on the global stage paled in the context of qualification to France ’98.

Of course, football is our most popular sport, as is the case for people everywhere on the planet. And that sport’s capacity to heal deep wounds in the social fabric is a matter of record.

Those who lived through the late 1990s won’t easily forget how community leaders in west Kingston and lower (southern) St Andrew, led by Members of Parliament Mr Edward Seaga and Dr Omar Davies, used football to bring peace and love to once-warring, politically tribalised neighbourhoods.

For those who witnessed the many years of deadly warfare involving communities such as Tivoli Gardens and Arnett Gardens, the speed with which peace was achieved and politically motivated hostilities withered away, defied belief.

And, once again, Jamaicans, now reeling from the near-apocalyptic consequences of Hurricane Melissa are turning to football’s restorative qualities. The need is pressing to reassure our people, particularly in the devastated west of the country, that all is not lost and that there is a brighter day to come.

The groundswell of love and support, from local and overseas sources, materialising in relief supplies and other support is heart-warming. Beyond the material, spirits must be lifted and hope renewed. That’s especially important for our young people who have never known trauma even remotely resembling Melissa’s legacy.

Hence our support for the decision by school leaders, part of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), to resume under-19 schoolboy football competitions in both rural and urban centres.

It will be especially difficult for schools in the west. But just as is the case with the gradual reopening of our classrooms, resumption of school sports provides a reminder that hope must never be lost.

From time immemorial the way of humans has been to fight, always fight, even in the face of great adversity. The harder the fight, the sweeter the victory.

And that urge to conquer, no matter what, must be all pervasive as the Reggae Boyz face admirably ambitious Curacao in that must-win World Cup qualifying clash at the National Stadium on Tuesday night.

Just as they did in Port of Spain late last week to earn a priceless point against sister Caricom nation and great rivals Trinidad and Tobago, our Reggae Boyz must demonstrate that indomitable will to succeed.

Passionate Jamaicans yearning for victory must also do their part. Donned in the black, green and gold, patriots must pack the National Stadium to roar our players on to victory.

The prize won’t only be a place at the FIFA World Cup table in USA, Mexico, and Canada next year, it will provide crucial healing in the push to recovery from the utter horror that was Hurricane Melissa.