My Philippines

Yehey! I'm coming back home again,my first christmas in the Philippines in 5 years.I can't wait.I know, most of the problems in our country is still there,but what the heck!There's no place like home.

I saw a program in TFC this afternoon,talking about Manila as expat friendly.One of the guests,a Fin said he preferred Manila to Kuala Lumpur because the people are more friendlier.Yes,inspite of us filipinos sometimes shooting at our own foot,there are positive things happening,and it is something we can start upon.

I personallly think we have to address as a nation 2 things today.Basic needs and population control.If we concentrate on tackling these 2 immediate barriers,we could go to the next.

I just hope in 2-4 years time,the Philippines will not be only expat friendly but most importantly,Filipino friendly.I dream of the a Philippines were everyone has got a job,big or small.

Meanwhile,I'm just happy to be back.To see more beautiful parts of the country.I plan to go to Boracay,do a Viaje del sol and attend a tour of Intramuros with Carlos Celdran and some more!See you soon my Philippines!

The PBA has started it's new season last month.With new faces and a new rules,they are hoping to have a banner year.I've seen the games and for sure you can say the best players in basketball in RP is in the PBA. Quality wise no question about it.

So the question is,where are the fans? Aside from the opening day game,you don't have to be there physically to observe that PBA games tend to have less people watching it.So what's really happening?I've got a few theories.

1.PBA has become boring. When a league try's to be a family entertainment,it loses it's edge. I know we shouldn't condone violence,but basketball is a physical game. When there is a physical altercation for instance,majority of the action is not shown or discussed in the TV coverage. No replays whatsoever. What happens is,the perpetrator goes scott- free. Without this coverage,there's a resemblance of the games being boring. So stop being a Sesame street program ,people want to see physicallity and realness. Blood sweat and tears without becoming a hooligan,that's what makes it a true sport.

2.Ungrateful to fans.When did you hear PBA,saying thank you to loyal fans of every other team.Is there any program,specifically made for fans.I mean real fans.Fans that stay with the clubs win or lose.Do they actually get commended?Fans need this affirmation from the commercial clubs that they support in order for them to keep on rooting for them.It's a known fact that the PBA is a big time advertisement thing.But at the end of the day,it's still a sport.And sports needs fans to survive.Do players play for the fans or company?For me,it's always for the fans.

3.I think everyone remembers the defunct basketball league MBA,have you seen how their fans responded to their teams.It was so passionate and ecstatic.It's like the support you see on La Salle/Ateneo basketball games,but on a larger scale.PBA's problem is Commercial teams don't really have the affinity with fans,meaning it's quite hard to root for a team named after a company. It showed,MBA didn't have the marquee players the PBA had,yet people/fans came to watch MBA games with passion.The reason,fans can feel automatic affinity to teams.If I was a cebuano,I rooted for Cebu Gems,or a kapampangan rooting for their Pampanga dragons etc.etc.So,if the PBA wants to see genuine fan loyalty to teams ,PBA has got to adopt Philippine cities to enhance fan support again.They could even start with cities in Metro Manila to save money.For example by drawing lots,PBA teams can be named like,GinebraManila,Purefoods Makati or Sta. Lucia Pasig.

Affinity that's the key.If not,good as well,if interest in basketball wanes.Football might be able to stage a comeback.The sport that we filipinos should be playing anyway.

So what's happening in Philippine football?It's getting better apparently.FIFA rankings has shown that indeed we are doing fairly well,inspite of football being a misunderstood sport in the Philippines.

With the help of fil-foreigners,there is sort of football revival.But it's not enough.And PFF (Philippine Football Federation)is not doing more to build up what the RP football team has gained in the last SEA games.

Thank God for cable TV.Filipinos can see for themselves how big football is in the whole world.I think this is a great opportunity to see how the sport that they thought was an elitist game is actually a game for everyone.

In fact most of the great football players in the world came from simple families.The sport that filipinos thought was expensive is really a poorman's game.The heck,all you need is a ball,2 tin cans to serve as your goal and that's it!

So what can be done to restore football into filipino's minds?1. Exposure to the sport 2.School curriculum 3.Government support 4. Media 5.Professional league.

If we could sort of fend off the powers that be in Basketball.then football has got hope.At the end of the day it's up to Football lovers to promote the sport.Until govt. and the media can't deny the fact that they actually have to take notice of the sport the whole world calls the beautiful game.Heck,even our idols the americans play it now!

(Thanks PinoySoccer.com for the AZKAL pics)

Why not soccer for Pinoys?

I used to be a basketball fanatic,I've been playing since I was a kid.I still play the game every now & then to keep fit.I'm not great in playing it,but I can handle my own inside the court.

But living in Europe for the past 5 years,sort of opened my eyes.It's not a basketball world afterall.The world actually plays football {or soccer for Americans & Filipinos}.From Europe to Africa,Middle East to Asia,people play football.

So why do filipinos play basketball and not football?I really don't know.As far as my observation is,Basketball is not suited for us because we are a "Bansot" race.Basketball is a tall man's game.

We could be better in playing football.Because you don't have to be really tall to play it.What you need is skill,pace and technique,which we Filipinos automatically have.

I am not even saying,let's forget basketball all together.What we could probably do,is to pay a little bit of attention to other sports we could really be good at.Football I think is one of those.

And probably ask ourselves the question.The whole world is playing it,even the americans has recognized this.So why do we Filipino's still ignore it?And to think we could actually be good at it.

And so goes my first post.