Sports Eye
Better PH sports in 2014?
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
EVERY Christian has its own way to welcome the New Year. But for most of us Filipinos. we greet the year with fireworks, firecrackers and whistle bombs, blowing our vehicles’ and bicycles horns, ringing the bells, banging the drums, etc. aside from partying, dancing and drinking. In my case, I did it with a little prayer that hopefully the Almighty God will give us a prosperous year in 2014, unlike in 2013 tha was marked by major catastrophes like super typhoon Yolanda, the Bohol-Cebu earthquake and the Zamboanga City siege. (All because of the Zamboanga siege, the 2013 Batang Pinoy National Games was called off and moved to Bacolod City with the opening slated this coming January 28.)
Then I contented myself just watching the beautiful fireworks display lit by my neighbours and listening to the sound of firecracker explosions. I did it to save money but first and foremost to avoid an injury. Graduate na ako diyan ‘ika nga sa ganyang revelry. The smog that I sensed in the wee hours of January 1 was eventually replaced by firecracker smokes forcing me to cover my nose. But it was a happy celebration with my neighbours to welcome the añonuevo con mucho gusto.
Social Weather Survey (SWS) says 94% percent of Filipinos welcomed 2014 with hope despite the natural and man-made disasters that hit our nation last year. Of course, that includes our national sports officials, predicting again that our national athletes will perform better in the coming Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China as well as the Asian Games (AG) in Incheon, South Korea. Our sports czars in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) are singing their usual optimism predicting that our national squad will win at least eight gold medals in YOG and 10 golds in AG. That I believe is improbable and a product of their hallucination since our best national athletes who participated in the just concluded Southeast Asia (SEA) Games could only manage to finish seventh overall (only 29 golds). This was our worst participation since 1977 in this biennial meet considered as the smallest international games in the world. How can they predict a better performance in the YOG (exclusively for 14 to 18 years old) and the AG which is an open age Asian tournament? My golly, they’re fooling their countrymen. Well,How can they predict a bountiful gold harvests in the coming YOG and AG with just nine months to go? This is plain hubris. These national sports officials are daydreaming since PH never won more than four golds in these two quadrennial meet. No wonder (except for professional boxing which these sports officials do not handle), our sports development is continuously on the decline instead of improving. Yes, perhaps their fearless forecasts could become a reality but not this year but four years from now but only if the national development program is finally on the right track. Noticeably, our neighbor nations are improving immensely and better but not our country. Our just concluded 2013 Myanmar SEA Games stint was the big confirmation. Better PH sports in 2014? Hopefully.
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There are a lot of talks that Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will finally fight the elusive and flamboyant Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. in September for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight crown. But the report also says Pacquiao has to fight (again) his conqueror Timothy Bradley for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title and Pacman has to win before facing the undefeated Mayweather. It will be a unified (WBC and WBO) battle that boxing fans all over the world have been waiting for a long-long time.
But my question is: Do you think it will really happen this year? I don’t think so because Mayweather is asking for too much, at least $60M which I believe is unrealistic. No wonder Mayweather’s nickname now is “Money” because he’s known to be greedy unlike before when he was called in boxing as “Pretty Boy.” I wish and hope Pacman will demolish the cocky black guy so he learn to stop bad mouthing our treasured boxing icon. If Pacman wins, it will be the best of all the gifts that Pacman has given the Filipino people and will make the year 2014 the brightest year in sports. Let’s just wait and see.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 JOHN 2: 2-4
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