Video summary
The video captures the emotional farewell of the SportsMax team as they prepare for the shutdown of their iconic channel, reflecting on a transformative twenty-three-year journey that began in 2002 under the leadership of Oliver McIntosh. The narrative highlights how the organization evolved from humble beginnings in small borrowed rooms to becoming a regional integrator comparable to West Indies cricket, uniting diverse Caribbean nations through comprehensive sports coverage. Key figures like Sir Lance and Ricardo are credited for setting high standards that challenged norms and brought people together from Kingston to Trinidad and Tobago, fostering a sense of pride among viewers who felt they owned a piece of this media house. The speakers express deep gratitude for the opportunities provided, noting how their personal growth—from interns writing scripts to producers and commentators—was fueled by an environment where every day offered a chance to improve and produce better content than the previous one.
Central to the tribute is the profound impact SportsMax had on individual careers and regional unity, with specific anecdotes illustrating its revolutionary role in Caribbean sports journalism. The team recalls covering everything from local street football events like Guinea Street Football to major international tournaments such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and NBA games, ensuring that even smaller islands like Anguilla received a platform for their athletes and stories. Personal testimonials reveal how employees overcame initial fears of live broadcasting mistakes to gain confidence, while mentors like Phil Riley and Mr. Edwards are thanked for instrumental support in professional development. A touching moment involves Ben Davis from Anguilla, who shares his lingering sadness about the closure but extends well-wishes to former colleagues, underscoring the lasting bonds formed within this unique family that celebrated successes across all Caribbean countries regardless of size or status.
Despite the inevitable sense of loss associated with closing doors and turning off lights, the overarching message is one of pride rather than failure, emphasizing that evolution often requires change even when it feels painful in the immediate moment. The speakers assert that they are leaving at the peak of their game after achieving significant milestones, having perfected a presentation style that gave voice to regional sporting audiences who previously lacked such coverage. They acknowledge that while specific programs may end, the unforgettable mark left by SportsMax will stand the test of time, and many team members plan to continue working together in various capacities elsewhere. The conclusion reinforces the belief that dreams do not die but rather see viewers through forever, leaving a legacy where Caribbean people can still feel united under shared knowledge, news, issues, and successes despite organizational changes.
Read the full video transcript
has been an immeasurable experience for
me. The zone is like West Indies cricket
serving as a regional integrator. I was
blessed with the opport with this
opportunity. I met the best of sporting
legends in the Caribbean, some of the
greatest administrators and man am I
going to miss my team, the people, the
robust discussion we have on a daily
basis while preparing for the show.
some very controversial ones, but the
spirit, the vibe, I'm definitely going
to miss that. It's been a hell of a
ride. Oh, I'm going to miss I'm going to
miss this. I'm going to miss the team.
I'm going to miss the Caribbean aspect
of this this this entire journey. But it
will be memories that I will that I will
cherish forever. the people. Well, I
have all their contacts, so we'll be in
touch.
>> Hi everyone. For the past year, I've had
the incredible experience of producing
here at SportsMax. It's been a space of
learning, passion, and unforgettable
memories. Thank you to the viewers for
making it all so special. Though
SportsMax is shutting down, the impact
it had on the Caribbean sports and on me
personally will live on.
>> It has been an amazing journey. Um I
came here in 2021
co um I was an intern then and um worked
throughout the Olympics
and
they were impressed with what I I could
do or could add to the team and I was
brought on staff subsequently. Sports
Max is literally the land of
opportunity. I came here as a intern to
do writing and to this present day I'm a
producer. I'm a commentator. I still
write. Um there's a a world of things
that I can do in this sports broadcast
journalism um work working world and I'm
so grateful for the opportunities given
to me. Um special thanks to Phil Riley
um Mr. Edwards. You guys have been a
tremendous um push towards me being
where I am and many others but those two
were really instrumental in my personal
development here at Sportsmax. So got to
miss you all. We loved working here and
um all the best to everyone.
>> They say that teams are molded in the
image of their leaders. I think the
standard here was always very high
simply because we were led by Sir Lance
and Ricardo. No task was ever simple,
none minuscule, not if done right. Every
day was an opportunity to learn. And
every 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. was a chance to
produce a better show than we had done
the day before. I have never been more
proud to have been a part of anything
than I am to say that I was a part of
the Sports Max team. Thank you. working
on the zone was really it was a
frightening feeling at first because
what we did was really live and stuff I
wrote was on TV working on the VT
machines like if I mess up it's going to
come off on screen and it's going to
look really weird but over time I got
used to it I got more confident to my
ability and I just want to say it was a
good experience overall from the team to
just working with everyone and
interacting with everyone and yeah I'm
going to really miss it so I just want
to give big thanks to the team and to
the sports Max for giving me opportunity
to further my passion and ignite more
fire for my passion in media and yeah it
was a really good opportunity just sad
to see it go. Hey sports max
thanks for what you did for me over the
past few years and for what you did for
the Caribbean.
>> Yeah hearing there from a brilliant team
of youngsters. You know they are the
reason that we're on air every day. you
know, they put in the work, they ensure
that the segments are upped upon. You
know, those are the people that I'll
miss when um I walk through the doors
today. So, on our living room set, our
beautiful set, uh we have Kino Johnson
and Tanya. Tanya was on earlier. Uh
Kino, over to you. What do you have for
us there?
>> I have 20 years, is now 24 years of
sports max experience. Tanya, it started
as no games, just sports in a 8 by8
room. Did you say that from a movie?
Hey, hey, no comment. Which movie was it
again?
>> What women want.
>> What women want. However, we changed it
into 24 hours of what sports fans want.
Not just in Jamaica, but the entire
Caribbean. And we upheld that status to
international standards. Now, beyond the
TV screens, there were events from
Guinea Street Football. And the original
Sports Max Zone was at CBA before it was
a TV show. It was a whole experience for
World Cup. That's how it started, right?
>> It was. I mean in 2010 World Cup we
decided that we were going to open a
sports restaurant that people could come
to every day and watch the World Cup in
Jamaica. It was revolutionary again
groundbreaking and the first of its
kind. What was the name of that venue?
Sports Max Zone. So eventually we
converted that into a TV show. So there
you have it folks. That's how we really
started
>> with the that's that's the inception and
we are here now. Curtain call saying
goodbye. But one of the brain
masterminds of it all is Oliver
McIntosh, Sports Max's former chair and
CEO and he has a message for his beloved
viewers. Let's call them that.
>> All right. So, I'll just go ahead and
take it from here. Um, when we started
in 2002, of course, Oliver Mintosh was
named CEO of Sports Max and he would
have been in that role for quite some
time. I think I believe some 19 to 20
years. he would have had that role for
20 years. And so Oliver Mintosh wanted
us to just read this message on his
behalf. Like the rest of the Caribbean
and the SportsMax family, I watched this
last episode of The Zone with a heavy
heart, but beaming with pride at the
same time.
This announcement came as a bit of a
surprise, but for those who worked
tirelessly to build it, we have
something that the region and our fans
should be proud of. What a 23-year
journey Sports Max has had almost movie
like that some may not believe. When
Chris Daring, Pat Rouso, and I first
spoke about it, and I returned to
Jamaica to dive in, never did I dream
that it would turn into the bellweather
of sport and media broadcast in the
Caribbean. Together, we challenged
norms. We carried sports content that
many never even thought of. And
importantly, we brought people together
from Kingston to Kingtown. From St.
James, Jamaica to St. James, Trinidad
and Tobago. From the small borrowed room
on Halburn Road to the office above the
casino on Trinidad Terrace and then to
Charas Avenue Malines Road, the content
and reach of Sports Max was a marvel.
The starkkest memory of one of the many
firsts was walking through a supermarket
in Trindadan Tobago in my SportsMax
shirt and a woman saying to me, "Thank
you, Oliver." Because she got to see her
family and her school on TV because of
what we did with the SSFL.
That's what SportsMax has meant to the
Caribbean and what we were about, a
media house that cared about the desires
of our little local market in the
Caribbean. We put our hearts into the
content that we produced. People in the
region came to accept Sports Max as
their own, almost as if they owned a
piece of it because it had so many touch
points that they were proud of. From
cricket in St. Elizabeth to football in
Tuna Puna to basketball at the indoor
sports center to track and field in
Bridgetown, Barbados to the Premier
League FIFA World Cup Olympics, FA Cup,
NBA and connecting to connecting it all
together was the SportsMax Zone, which
gave our Caribbean sporting audience the
platform to get coverage of all sports
across the region and of course to
exchange their viewpoints.
I'm still recovering from the bruises
dealt by Lance and Tananiel who said 90
minutes of talk that will never work.
Well, it worked because we had the most
awesome team that endeared themselves to
our audience in a manner never done
before. Mariah, Lance, Ricardo, Donald,
George, Alexis, Simon, Alex and Joel,
thank you. Time breeds change and
evolution. The closure of Sports Max is
an example of that change, not an
example of failure. Yes, in the
immediiacy, we all feel a sense of loss,
but more so we as Caribbean people need
to feel a sense of pride at what we
Caribbean people created.
The lights will go down, the doors will
close, but the unforgettable mark that
SportsMax has left will stand the test
of time.
If anyone ever questions that,
in the words of our departed beloved
chairman, Uncle Pat, as we
affectionately called him, Honorable Pat
Russo,
just tell them Pat Russo said that.
>> Yeah.
>> Who's taking it? Because I can't.
>> It's that time, isn't it?
>> Mhm.
>> Yeah. Um, we're that much closer to what
will be the very end. Um,
>> the lights will go off as
>> we've known for a few days now that we
would have to deal with this moment, but
knowing that you have to deal with it
and dealing with it are two completely
different things. So, um, Lance, Mariah,
Donald, here we are. Um, and like so
many things and so many experiences at
Sports Max, um, it is a tremendous honor
and and certainly for me to be part of
the team that closes this off. Um,
because as we said earlier, we are
closing off at the top of our game.
We're closing off at peak and you don't
often get the opportunity to do that.
and that we have gotten that
opportunity. And um Tanya just spoke to
the lineup of presenters that the Sports
Max zone has had over the years and it
is a tremendous lineup and we are the
ones um who get to run the final leg.
Lance,
>> yeah, you know what? I'm passionate
about the Caribbean as a region. You
know, everyone knows that I'm a I'm a
Jamaican, but when I do Olympic coverage
and
Kirani James wins gold for Grenada in
London and Sha Miller Weibo wins gold
for the Bahamas in Tokyo.
I as she did in Rio as well. The the
sense of thrill that I feel is the same
as when a Jamaican wins. And before
coming to Sports Max and I had worked at
the Caribbean Media Corporation, I
always had this dream of being a part of
a show that brings the Caribbean
together. And SportsMax as a channel did
that. But more specifically, the
SportsMax zone was that
that space that allowed us as Caribbean
people to feel as one and share in the
knowledge, the news, the issues, and the
successes of all of the countries
throughout the Caribbean. And it thrills
me to know that, you know, some of the
smallest Caribbean islands have gotten a
space on the Sports Mac zone. uh
countries like like Anguila. We remember
the Shafica Maloney story from St.
Vincent and the Grenardines. And I feel
that we have done a tremendous service
to the region as a broadcasting entity
to present a Caribbean picture of uh of
sport. And um I'm not sure where it's
got to go from here, but Sports Max
perfected the the the presentation of
that. And I feel really thrilled and
honored to be a part of that process
because it's something that I felt all
along even before the zone started that
the region needed.
>> Yeah. Um, and before you come in, Donald
and Mariah, you spoke about Anguila
Lance, and I got a message from Ben
Davis, who has been a contributor um out
of Anguila, and he says he still hasn't
come to terms yet with the news that
Sports Max is closing down, and he calls
all the names um that he's had the
opportunity to to work with on the
Sports Max zone. and he says, "Tany Lee
didn't know my Manchester United
connections either, so that's not the
reason he got the job, but I wish you
all great success in whatever road you
take and hope that we will work together
again soon," says Ben Davis out of
Angilla.
>> I usually get the final thing.
>> Oh, he he just need more time. Um,
>> you know, Sports Mats
has always been the land of opportunity.
It's a personal story for me. Um,
having been given the opportunity to
come here and, uh, try and perfect my
craft. Um, invited to be a part of this
family. Um there are a couple of times
when I thought that you know
I reached my destination and in those
early years I was challenged to do more
to be better in terms of the promos that
I produce in terms of the stories that I
write in terms of voicing in terms of
presenting
and there are times that I went through
fire but the point is that the end
destination was always gold.
>> Always gold. I uh
I I was blessed to work with several
interns um that came mostly from NCU uh
through different co uh coverage that we
had in the Olympics, Como
talented and many of them have excelled
uh to the point where they are the best
analysts in the country and um I am
going to miss uh providing that
opportunity to interact with the very
best of our future.
>> Um, and I love the fact that I'm a part
of this family, being a part of the
sports max zone, being a part of the
home of champions. We have been the
standard of broadcasting for so many
years. And as you said, Ricardo, we can
walk out with our heads held high
because we got to the mountaintop and
our aim was to touch the sky. We didn't
quite get there on several occasions,
but goodness me, the altitude was
something to remember. And I want to
thank every viewer who has uh watched us
and supported us and uh just really
pushed us to become better um because
that was our aim to become better and
yeah, for the final time. I know that
I'm going to be seeing you around and
you will be seeing me around and all of
us around in some capacity, but thank
you. Yeah. And in 10 seconds, I just
want to say just speaking about what
Sports Max has given to so many. Um,
there's a young man who you heard from,
his name is Daniel Allen. I will never
forget. He came to Sports Max in 2021
and he came as a co marshall. A COVID
marshall. And he's now a studio
director.
>> Mariah.
>> Yeah. Well, on behalf of the entire
team, I just want to say thank you.
Thank you so much. Um, all of you have
said you've watched me grown in on the
Sports Max screens. Where will I end up
next? I have no clue. But I just want to
say thank you on behalf of the entire
team. I'll miss all of you. And yeah,
goodbye this time. Goodbye for good.
[Music]
for you
and
I.
Souls in the wind must learn how to men.
Seek out star. Hold on to the end.
High
mountain
there is a fountain
washes our tears all away.
Words are sway.
[Music]
Please
come home to stay.
We hold on
together.
I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever.
The clouds roll
by
for you
and
I.
[Music]
And we are
[Music]
in the dark.
We'll drink
the sun.
[Music]
In the dark. We feel the light
on our hearts.
everyone.
[Music]
And if we hold on
together,
I know our dreams will never die.
Dreams see us through to forever.
[Music]
As high as souls can fly,
the clouds roll by
for you and
I.
[Music]