I will never forget
For Christmas this year, Reggae Boyz and Major League soccer goalkeeper Andre Blake is still pondering what he is going to be doing for the festive season, as his regular Christmas ritual has been changed due to the death of relatives. “I normally go with my family to see my grandparents and we just have like a family cook-out and chill and have a good time,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR. However, this year, Blake, who was named the runner-up to Real Madrid’s Kaylor Navas for the best goalkeeper in the CONCACAF region, says he won’t be making the one-hour trip to the hills of Mount Providence in Clarendon because his grandparents have died. “I have no plans as of right now. Maybe this Christmas I’m gonna stay home because the persons that we would normally go to visit, they have passed away, so we probably won’t be going there this year. They passed away earlier in the year,” he said. In years gone by, going to Grand Market used to be something that he did every year. However, he said that he has now outgrown that practice, but he rememberS that conflicts were a regular occurrence.
“There were fights. You can tell that there would always be at least five fights for the night; and you would just see people running and the crowd rushing and all of that,” he said.
But he said that he never got into trouble as he ensured that he asked to go out on Christmas Eve, and he avoided getting into confrontations.
“I would go whenever I had permission and ensure that I got back in one piece, and make sure all is well,” he said.