THE ASCENSION TO DEMIGOD
By Godofredo U. StuartI revelled as spectator in the decade of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Tomas Hearns, the reign of Muhammed Ali, the era of Mike Tyson. They were, for me, the glory days of boxing, the ultimate gladiator sport, mano a mano, never failing to provide for the testosterone needs of men.
By Will Leitch
Even when their lives are often anything but, boxers are afforded an undeniable dignity. At least in our popular culture. Our admiration for boxers is as profound as our fear of them, and we treat them accordingly. Jake LaMotta, some dumb palooka from the Bronx, is given a deeply respectful, almost regal treatment by the most serious filmmaker of our time. Muhammad Ali is the closest thing we have to an American saint. Heck, Mike Tyson: Even when you’re playing along with him on Jimmy Kimmel, you do it out of a certain terror; part of the excitement of watching Tyson goof off is the sense that he could explode and start decking everybody in sight any second. The great punchline of The Hangoverisn’t “In the Air Tonight;” it’s when, after Tyson floors Alan with one punch, Stu can’t help but be impressed: He’s still got it, man. They are granted warrior status, for life.
And then there is Manny Pacquiao.
patong patong ang talo. first, panatag. then jessica. then corona. then pacquiao.
i know i know, many of you will say, “then corona” does not belong. the corona conviction was a win, not a loss. yes, a win for the prez and his cohorts and supporters, but is it a win for the long-term? will the precedents that have been set prove to be of benefit to the nation? we don’t know that yet. all i know is, the system of checks-and-balances has been undone. now we wait and see what the president will do with unchecked unbalanced power. it better be good.
but to get back to the string of losses, pacquiao’s in particular. on anc’s teleradyo right now, ronnie nathanielz, karen davila, and vic de leon lima are practically beatifying manny, declaring him a saint, for the way he took the loss — such humility, such class, such submission to god’s will daw. sey pa ni davila, manny is “the living testimony of god’s faith.” susmaryosep. later, in a headstart replay, nathanielz said, manny was “presidential” in the way he accepted defeat. god, no, please. let us not be carried away.
it is so pinoy, this kind of response to loss, defeat, calamity. first we very quickly find someone else to blame, such as the judges, the mafia, sinister forces. then we turn to religion and politics for consolation and distraction. good job.
i saw the first half of the fight — from the national anthems to round 7 yata yon — and i wasn’t optimistic for pacquiao. parang it was too close a fight. and bradley was so much broader and more heavily muscled, and younger. no problem, if this had been in manny’s younger days, too, but manny 2012 is not as light and fast as he used to be, and not as strong. to my brother it looked like pacquiao couldn’t have taken bradley down, even if he wanted to. hindi na niya kayang magpatumba. yes he should have won this one, but not really by much.
one day i hope we can get past the in-denial and alalay-kay-pacquaio mood into a more honest and constructive what-happened-to-pacquiao mode. para we know better, next time.
anong nangyari kay manny? is this par for the course? is pacquiao at 33 past his boxing peak? what if manny had not been distracted by showbiz, politics, and religion? what if he had focused on boxing, training, and, on the side, setting up training centers for would-be winners like him? might he have been still in shape to knock out, knock down, the younger bradley?
i wonder whose advise pacquiao has been listening to all these years as he lurched instead from showbiz to politics to religion to anti-RH to bible-reading and preaching. whoever you guys are, shame on you. what a disservice to pacquiao and nation.
and, finally, on this 12th of june, a word about jessica sanchez, the filipino-mexican-american who almost won american idol, to our great pride and joy, and who sang the u.s. national anthem in the pacquiao-bradley match. i actually bothered to get up earlier than usual just so i could catch her live on on pay tv (at my cousin’s next door).
it was weird. i thought it was kind of twisted that we were more kilig by her rendition of the star-spangled banner than by the unknown pinay’s rendition of lupang hinirang.
and when manny lost, and jessica tweeted: congrats to the new winner but i’m still really upset about the results :( natawa na lang ako. lukso ng dugo? maybe she should have declined the gig na lang, but how was she to know he would lose, how could she have foreseen what it would feel like. well, now she knows.
ang mas nakakatawa, many pinoys, including conrado de quiros, actually thought jessica would be singing lupang hinirang. i had no such akala. she’s american, ano ba.
these last two days i’ve been so aliw with twitter, biglang may tag na #teamjinkee, na nanganak na ng #teamkrista, and #teamdionisia. found out from ederic, one of only 12 tweeps i follow because i’m too lazy. the tweets are funny kasi yung mga nagjo-join ay tawang-tawa rin sa kanilang bagong advocacy: cheering on jinkee and not her (allegedly) philandering champ of a husband manny pacquiao, LOL
ederic : may #teamjinkee na raw sa Twitter. Hehe
gasolinedude : Kung merong #teamjinkee sa Twitter, meron din bang #teamkrista?
ederic : Wala pa yatang #teamkrista … Sasali kami sa #teamdionisia. LOL
jcmadrinico: gus2 ko ng team jinkee na tshirt! hehehe
petiburges : Nakikiisa! Go Team Jinkee!
pinay_chismosa : hehehe #teamjinkee so I am ANTI-KRISTa na!!! hehe
annaria : I hope she gets half of all his money. #TEAMJINKEE!
beahidalgo : Why are all tweets about Jinkee Pacquiao? But seriously, go #TeamJinkee. The girl is just not.worth.it.
ederic : Mga ANTI-KRISTa ba ang mga kasapi ng Team Jinkee?
Jackemon : ANTI-KRISTa hahahaha kalurkey,
theasweetcheeks : ako sa legal wife; team Jinkeeee!! hehehe :p
pinay_chismosa to #teamjinkee don’t get mad, don’t get even, get everything -first wives club. waaaaaa.ANTI-KRISTa.
mcmanaloto : kay Jinkee din ako, she really stood by her man through thick or thin and all
noelledeg : Whether it’s love or not, it’s still wrong to cheat on your wife,
jecoplacio : Natawa naman ako sa mga #teamjinkee at #bangonjinkee tags. #teamkrista ako. Lol.
arnoldgamboa : Kakatawa naman kayo mga Tweeps. May #teamkrista at #teamjinkee na kayong hash tags? Go, #teamdionisia! Hahaha!
nei_tapan : I hope Jinkee Pacquiao has a twitter acct so she can see how almost everybody is supportive of her :'(
jonasdelosreyes: just a matter of time b4 #teamjinkee starts trending :)
lizzzuy : I feel for Jinkee Pacquiao ;(
Abbie12 For richer or poorer! #TeamJinkee!!!
pinay_chismosa : hay naku still I am ANTI-KRISTa. at hanggang ngayon di nagsasalita kahit si Matt Ranillo. Hay naku nangangamoy dugo…
camzs420 : #TEAMJINKEE! No to homewreckers.. ^.^ woot!
arlenetamayo: Sisters and I are making Team Jinkee shirts. HAHA. you want?
joey_alarilla : yes, where can we buy the shirts?
roxanvergonia http://bit.ly/34GV0P . A Woman deserves more. Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior. #TEAMJINKEE on the rise!
jrcarrabe : hey i want my #teamjinkee shirt! haha!
camzs420 : no to homewreckers ^.^ woot!
arlenetamayo : #teamjinkee shirts are underdevelopment. My sister’s designing it as I tweet. :D my heart really goes out to her. :)
camzs420 : Nko #pacman, lalo kang di mananalo sa Saranggani.. Puro #teamjinkee dun! hahaha!
ilovemaru : Yey, madami palang kakampi. Team Jinkee!!! Haha
charuzee : Topic of the day at work! :)
Abbie12: For richer or poorer! #TeamJinkee!!!
ederic : And still others are torn between #teamjinkee and #teamkrista. :p
joey_alarilla : LOL #teamjinkee rules! pero baka mas marami ang #teamdionisia haha :)
maimislang : OMG laugh trip yung #teamjinkee! Guys guys, anong round na ba? =)
mindanaoan : Me! I’m on #teamjinkee (woot) LOL how how the carabao kaya isi-spin to ni krista?
maimislang : Hindi ka nag-iisa!!! #teamjinkee taob na taob #teamkrista
ronniedare : Ntabunan na ng #teamjinkee and ni #Kristaranillo ang buzz regarding Pacman’s victory. Hanef! hehe
edsregine : Count me in for #teamjinkee! Dun ako sa legal wife! Go Mrs. Pacquiao! Woohoo!
paolozamora : natumbok mo! minahal at pinakasalan nung di pa sikat.
wwwgmanewstv: Pacquiao victory eclipsed by Krista Ranillo ‘affair’
maimislang : Kasi naman Pacman, behave! :
edsregine : We’re on your side Mrs. Pacquiao!
spaulding2k : mukang wala sa ring ang downfall ni pacquiao! :Þ
edsregine The whole body of Philippine laws and jurisprudence is with Jinkee. More importantly, the Divine Law is on her side. #teamjinkee
joey_alarilla : Manny Pacquiao wife gets support from Filipino Twitter users
inday58 : i dont think all of manny’s success in the ring can make up for his disgusting morals. better change before he loses everything.
orasid : bigla kong nakita yung Knorr ad nina Manny at Jinkee :'(
arlenetamayo : … currently looking for printers for the #teamjinkee shirts. So we can finalize the size and prices :)
camzs420: RT@scoopbox: Jinkee Pacquiao will not arrive with husband Manny tomorrow.She took a different flight,will arrive on Sat instead.
DirekJoey : There must be more to life than arguing, fussing, speculating, moralizing and worrying about Krista Ranillo.
ederic Fr @heckler8: NCR will deploy 2000 cops on Friday to secure Manny Pacquiao; 3000 more will be deployed to secure Krista Ranillo.
welcome home, manny ;)