SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras:

AS I pulled the curtain aside and looked through the window yesterday morning, right there, perched on the rail barely two yards away was a little bird.

It flitted its head from side to side then darted across the sky into the trees on the other side of the courtyard of the Hilton Princess hotel in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Out of nowhere flew two other birds, tracing their counterpart. One by one they re-emerged, launching into a grand little chase amid the greenery surrounding the pool several floors below.

Immediately, the memory of sitting in a restaurant not five minutes away from the hotel the previous evening came to mind, as among the songs on a CD of reggae icon Bob Marley that were played was one titled Three Little Birds.

Non-performance

Then I noticed Reggae Boy Rudolph Austin, perched on the steps leading to the poolside and on to the eating area, flipping through pages of a tabloid with coloured pictures that were quite vivid, even from my position nearly three floors higher.

I couldn't help making the connection, wondering whether the Reggae Boyz would play with the freedom and spirit of the birds in tonight's World Cup qualifier against Honduras.

It is a thought triggered by the Jamaicans' non-performance as they suffered a 3-0 loss to Mexico City in the quadrangular play-off, semi-final round Group Two match at the Azteca; freezing into a state that eliminated their competitive juices and left the team at the bottom of the table with Canada on one point apiece.