COURTNEY EDWARD LIVINGSTON

Founding Father and Former President of the The Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club and Respected RBSC Forumite From 1997 - 2006

Sadly Missed by The Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club

www.reggaeboyzsc.com

Most of us in the Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club first “met” Courtney on the discussion forum of the reggaeboyz.com website in 1998. Courtney stood out on that forum, displaying not just a passion for football, but for a wide variety of sports, even American football, politics and most world issues. When the NY arm of this website began to formulate what would become the Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club, it called on Courtney to assist. Over the telephone, or by emails, Courtney remained steadfast in his belief that any entity bearing the Reggae Boyz name had better present a Jamaican face, notwithstanding the large numbers of Jamerican participants on the website. Despite some tense discussions, Courtney was fair and conciliatory, while being a man of principle, standing proudly for whatever he believed in. In his own words he was irrational in his support of The Reggaeboyz, Arnett Gardens, Liverpool and Brasil.

Courtney became the president of the local chapter of the Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club. Under his leadership, the RBSC encouraged and undertook supporter travels to see the Reggae Boyz play in qualifying competitions throughout CONCACAF. When trouble brewed in our sister islands of Trinidad & Tobago, Courtney stood firm in defence of his friends, a woman by the name of Portia, and Jamaica. His mighty frame did all the talking. Because despite his internal fire, his love for animated argument, and his imposing physique, Courtney was indeed a gentle giant.

Courtney’s vision to develop a football culture in Jamaica was way before its time. Under the banner of the RBSC, he introduced a full-fledged band in the stadium during football games to break our tradition of watching football games in dour silence. It was bitter-sweet to hear just this week, that Digicel wanted the Caribbean Cup to become more a festive family affair. Maybe one day, when the Office vibrates with an atmosphere similar to that in Anfield the home of his beloved Liverpool or at Old Trafford, we’ll remember the vision of Livi.

It seemed a natural fit when Courtney put his football knowledge to practical use when he joined Arnett Gardens Football Club. Known as Manage, Mr. Livi, Mankind, Presi to most, he was father-figure to many footballers, and not just those at AGFC.

Over the years, some of the US-based Forumites got to meet and socialize with Courtney. Those who never met him think they have, such was his warmth and strength of personality. Some who have made the effort to be with us today to pay their final respects to a man described by one Forumite as, “A man who cared for the welfare of Jamaica and Jamaicans above all else”. Courtney was good people, Courtney was family.

The RBSC extends sincere condolences to the family of Courtney Livingston. We have profited from our association with him, however short it has been. He shall remain in our hearts forever.

"I shall live beyond death, and I shall sing in your ears Even after the vast sea-wave carries me back To the vast sea-depth. I shall sit at your board though without a body, And I shall go with you to your fields, a spirit invisible. I shall come to you at your fireside, a guest unseen. Death changes nothing but the masks that cover our faces. The carpenter shall be still a carpenter, The farmer, a farmer, And he who sang his song to the wind shall sing it also to the moving spheres."

I close with a verse from Khalil Gibran, one of my favourite poets:

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death." And he said: You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling? For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Livi has been set free. And for any who may still be wondering, Where's Courtney gone now? He’s here, conjured up in a million memories, walking around in the recollections of his Family, friends, associates and in all of us who remember. There's a West African proverb that says as long as you call a person's name, his spirit lives.

Hey, Courtney, Livi, Love you, brother! Thank you, beloved.

In the end there was little of you left for death to claim. Death got cheated because we got it all.

Livi, walk good, knowing you will never walk alone and may your soul rest in peace.

- Tribute offered by Philemon “Balla” Holmes Member of The Reggae Boyz Supporterz Club