By Franka Philip She has her visa and she's packed

	As the team arrived, the fans were right behind. (picture:courtesy Soca warriors supporters Club)

It’s like a kind of ‘football hajj’, an exodus of Trinidadians from all over the world going on a patriotic pilgrimage.

I’m now truly all set to head to the World Cup. I have my German visa, my match ticket, my Soca Warriors t-shirt and the defining accessory, the Trinidad and Tobago Patriot Cap.

This cap, which is based on the Trinidad and Tobago flag, is the must have item for Trinis in London.

Jay Mahabir, who designed it, said she wanted something that would say Trinidad and Tobago without tacky branding.

"What you see is a Trini"

“With this hat, what you see is the flag, what you see is a Trini,” she said. “You look at the hat, you don’t need to say anything – it speaks for itself and it speaks for you.”

The idea for the cap wasn’t born out of the country’s World Cup campaign, it was an idea that Mahabir had been playing around with for a while.

The interesting thing about the hat, is even though it’s bold, it’s somehow quite subtle.

And that’s because if you don’t know the Trinidad and Tobago flag, you’ll just think that it’s a really funky cap.

Wave your flag

	The cap is the "must have" accessory".

This is something I saw for myself when I was driving with some of my Trini friends on Saturday.

We were at a traffic light and noticed that the passenger in the next car kept looking at Kelvin who was wearing his cap.

He then pointed and asked, “Trinidad and Tobago right?” It turns out the guy wasn’t from Trinidad or the Caribbean, he was in fact from Kuwait.

Online debate

With literally a couple of days until the Soca Warriors kick off against Sweden, there’s been a lot of discussion on internet message boards and forums about the team’s prospects in Germany.

I’ve been following two sites in particular, the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup team blog and the Warrior Nation site for Trinidad and Tobago supporters.

Of course, there are lot of opinions about the kind of tactics the Soca Warriors coach Leo Beenhakker should adopt and which team he should pick.

The thing that caught my eye was an article about a cricket fete match between Soca Warriors supporters and a group called englandfans that will take place in Nuremberg on June 14.

The other TT v England game

Martin O'Hara of englandfans told the Warrior Nation website; "We wanted to organize something special in Nuremberg to celebrate what will be a major event."

"Cricket is huge in both England and Trinidad and Tobago, and was a perfect way of bringing fans together in a relaxed atmosphere. We also hope that lots of local people will come along to see what cricket is like and join in the party."

It should be an experience for the Germans who’ve already had to deal with blue devils, winergirls and soca artists.

If Trinidad beat the English in that fete match, we’d be tempted to take it as an omen for the next day’s game.

But back here in London, World Cup fever is reaching to fever pitch, and as I make the rounds of Trini parties, all I’m getting is good vibes, and a huge outpouring of pride for the Soca Warriors, I can’t wait to get to Germany.

Photo : Trinis in London have been wearing their Patriot Caps with style