BIZARRE as it may sound, football can change the mood of a nation.

We?ve seen here right in Bermuda, we?re seeing it currently at the Euro 2004 championships where the trials and tribulations of Greek authorities as they struggle to prepare for this summer?s Olympics have suddenly disappeared under the shadow of a national football team which has lifted the entire country into a state of euphoria.

And there?s perhaps never been a better example of how football can influence a country?s emotions than in El Salvador, Bermuda?s opponents in this Sunday?s second leg World Cup qualifier. It was only some 30 odd years ago that the Salvadoreans went to war with neighbours Honduras in a conflict which some insist was sparked by an outburst on the football field.

So make no mistake, this weekend?s match at the National Sports Centre is one of some considerable significance.

Victory would take the team to a stage in the World Cup that they?ve reached just once before ? in 1992 ? but more importantly it might go a long way towards burying the off-field controversies which so often seem to hinder any attempt at international success, not only in soccer in but so many sports.

Coach Kenny Thompson?s efforts to lift his squad certainly haven?t been helped by rows over training facilities, lack of Government and corporate support and most recently hotel accommodation.

Hopefully, should Bermuda emerge with what would be a monumental victory on Sunday, those differences could be forgotten and the country could throw its full weight behind the team.

That they deserve.

As one of the privileged few who got to see last Sunday?s game in San Salvador, I can tell you it was an extraordinary performance of blood, sweat and tears which left every single player totally drained.

Don?t let anyone accuse these guys of lacking in character.

To lose by just a single goal in a stadium where no team from the Caribbean region has emerged with a victory since Haiti in 1969 says an awful lot.

A similar effort this Sunday in front of what should be for the first time a capacity crowd at the NSC might be sufficient to keep the World Cup dream alive.

But wounded as they were a week ago and with the masses in El Salvador calling for the coach?s head, the Central Americans aren?t about to lie down. They will be every bit as difficult as they were first time around.

It promises to be a hugely entertaining match.

And if Bermuda for once can muster its full support, it might just be an historic one.

READERS of this newspaper could be forgiven for thinking that World Cup football was the only major sporting event that took place last weekend.

But while we make no apologies for our extensive coverage of the game, we recognise there was an awful lot more happening in the sports world. Indeed, last weekend might just have been one of the most eventful ever.

Besides football, there were the national track and field championships, the national swimming championships, the national cycling championships and the Amateur Strokeplay Golf Championships. On top of that there was also a professional boxing card, a full slate of league cricket as well as Western Counties Cup, and the annual long distance Comet race . . . and then the visit by cricket?s World Cup Venue Assessment Team. And probably a few other events of which we knew nothing about.

Unfortunately, our sports staff can?t be everywhere at once and we apologise if some of the above events didn?t get the coverage they might have thought they deserved.

But there are a few associations that could do more to help themselves. While some make an awful lot of fuss about the appointment of presidents, secretaries and treasurers, they often overlook the importance of a public relations officer.

Consequently what they consider important may never get relayed to the media and those in the respective sports who might warrant recognition are ignored.

SHORTAGE of space prevents any lengthy reply to the vitriol spewed by former road runner Garry Wilkinson in a letter to Sports Mailbox last week regarding this columnist?s views on Clarence Hill?s omission from the Hall of Fame.

Notwithstanding Wilkinson?s misguided thoughts on what constitutes a national hero ? there are, for instance, a few victims of serious crime who might take a different tack ? it?s interesting to note that he took time and effort in an attempt to denigrate this writer but never once took issue with the panel of 12 ? all of them Bermudians ? whose actual votes dictated who and who should not be the Hall?s inaugural inductees.

Perhaps the xenophobia pills he?s been taking since crying foul after being whipped by Swiss visitor Karl Kupferschmidt in the Marathon Derby all those years ago haven?t kicked in yet.

Believe it or not Garry, you don?t have to be Bermudian to hold an opinion.

But then as a director of the BTFA, you might disagree.