Pacquiao's butterfly effect

I found myself in a crowd of a thousand shouting at the top of my lungs to a person I see only through an LCD projector.

Weird. I initially thought.

It suddenly struck me at the end of the game.

I don't really know what the hell I was doing there. I could have just spent that Sunday alone in my room and wait for the results to come out in Twitter.

You can never go wrong with what cyberspace feed (Or so, I thought).

I couldn't consider it the Fight of the Year.

But I should admit that I am guilty of not betting for Manny Pacquiao to win this fight.

Yes. I have my reason.

Joshua Clottey is an African, roots came from Ghana. And we know how these people fight. I am not trying to be a racist here. But really, Clottey has all the advantages he could get.

The height. The reach. The weight. The muscles.

All about him was really an advantage.

But everything changed before the game started.

Since the coliseum was closed to minimize the crowd's growing number, I thought of smoking inside instead. I found myself smoking with a 50-ish man.

Out of nowhere, he asked me, "Sino tingin mo mananalo bata?"

"Hindi ko po alam e," I answered. "Pero nagdadalawang isip ako kung mananalo si Pacquiao e. Ikaw po?"

"Ako Pacquiao siyempre. Manalo. Matalo. Sa Pilipinas ako."

I was suddenly speechless.

It felt like a piano was suddenly drop over my head.

I just smiled.

I realized,Filipinos still have that burning pride to be a Filipino. We still hang on to the fact that we are still capable of change.

And I believe you my fellowmen.

To manong, thank you for that remark. It changed my perspective. It changed me.

8 is a lucky number

The world once again stopped to witness the breath-taking event of the year. Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao a.k.a. Manny Pacquiao came face to face with another world's best, Oscar dela Hoya.

I am never really interested with such events - not boxing, not basketball, not soccer, not football, and definitely not UFC. In fact, I never watched any of Pacman's match, not until last Sunday's bout. I was there from the pre-boxing event until Pacman spoke in English.

From the very start, you can speedily identify the difference between the two boxers. 

One, physically and obviously, dela Hoya is much bigger than that of Pacquiao. One could really tell that with the former's edge in height and built, he could really make use of such edge.

However, which is my number two, Pacquiao has this "Tazmanian Devil" knack that enables him to move around Dela Hoya, making the latter slowly run out of energy. The former, on the other hand, never ran out of stamina from the start until the 8th round - where the latter decided to submit the fight.

It was great seeing Manny on the spotlight again - a proud Filipino who waves the Philippine flag up high for the whole world to see. But what disappointed me is the fact that dela Hoya surrendered, making me lose my thrill and excitement towards the match. He could have fought until his last breath, saving him from humiliation, making his country proud of what he has done.

But I can't blame Dela Hoya. If I were on his shoes, I would have done the same. I wouldn't let myself be bombarded with punches on the face just for nothing - not now, not ever.

Now, I can't take it, I think I'm beginning to like Manny. Nah. 

To dela Hoya, you put up the best fight you can. You might lost, but you courageously showed the world that it's better you stand up and lose against your enemy than never fight at all. I salute you.

To Pacquiao, another success added to your reel of achievements, but I do hope you keep your feet on the ground. Continue soaring high not just for yourself but for the Filipino nation. Just remember to save up for the future, you wouldn't want to be Mohammad Ali. Unless you would rely on number 8 as your lucky number.

* * *

Before the match, there were advertising efforts to support Pacman's fight. There's Nike, Magic Sing, Touch Mobile, Pepsi, and a whole lot more. But what caught my attention is Nike's billboard along EDSA, it's specifically located, if I'm not mistaken, above Metropoint Mall. 

In the billboard, since a photo's not available online, you can see Pacman kneeling on the ring's corner, where he usually kneels before the match starts, with his hand widely spread as if nailed on the cross alongside a copy, "Give us this day." A very simple yet striking material from Nike. The creative team of Ogilvy should be applauded for such great work.