Power of the unexpected

By Al S. Mendoza

THE past year wasn’t good for Manny Pacquiao—but only insofar as his win-loss record is concerned.

Life is irony it surprises me no more.

After his 12-round loss on points to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May, Pacquiao became Asia’s highest paid athlete of all time.

In defeat, Pacquiao stashed away more than $100 million—after a job that took him less than an hour to complete.

Life’s unfair?

I churn out hundreds of columns a year and I can’t even earn 10 thousand dollars for the gargantuan effort.

You disobey counsel (my Pops said I had a mean left hook when I was a kid) and learn to live with what life’s given you.

Ingrid Bergman was right:  “No regrets with decisions I have chosen.  My only regret was not having done the ones I should have done.”

I’m not saying I regret not becoming a boxer.

In the first place, I never wanted to become one.

Writing was what I like from the very beginning.

When I first held a Sunday Punch (I was in Grade 4, I guess), I said to myself:  “Maybe, I could write for this paper in the future?”

What a thought.

When I decided to become a journalist—in 1974 when I was accepted as a sportswriter for the Bulletin Today (the martial law name of today’s Manila Bulletin), my Pops said to me:  “Son, now that you have finally decided to become a journalist, I have but only one counsel to you:  Write the truth at all times.”

I’ve been writing Socrates truth here since 2001(?).

In his unlamented time, Marcos always tried to hide the truth to sanitize his dreaded dictatorship.

But not in sports.

Reason:  How can one change the result any contest.

When he lost to Mayweather, Pacquiao kept saying he felt he won the fight, echoing what many Filipinos believed.

Always, a belief is different from reality.

Can you believe seeing Pacquiao win as senator in the company of Tito Sotto 5 months from now?

Many now also believe that Roxas is doomed and will end up losing in the May presidential election.

But didn’t many also believe Roxas would win the vice presidency in 2010—and yet he lost to Binay?

Binay is now leading the presidential pack, but can he translate that into victory in May?

Grace has her back against the wall with disqualification issues horribly hounding her.

Will she survive and proceed to win—and become the first foundling in world history to become president of her country?

And what about Duterte?

Will Davao’s dirty-talking mayor do a miracle and catapult himself to Malacanang?

Only God knows what is going to happen.

Many were unbelieving Cory would succeed Marcos in 1986.  And then Edsa happened.

Noynoy was a nondescript senator until her Mom, President Cory, died in August 2009.

By June 2010, Noynoy was P-Noy the president of the republic.

Believe in the power of the unexpected.

In the meantime, believe you me: It is 2016.  And I have yet to earn my first 10 thousand dollars.

No regrets.  I never dreamed of it.  Never will I.

Happy New Year!

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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