Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last August 18, 2009.
I entitled this journal entry after the elitist remark that UP supporters in UAAP use: “UP kami. Kayo?” To be honest, I do not really care when they say that because I value my Alma Mater greatly that even if UP or La Salle proclaim that they are better than Ateneo in rankings, it does not matter to me at all. For me, Ateneo is the best undergraduate university in the Philippines. But before this journal entry gets misconceived as an anti-UP writeup (it’s not supposed to be anyway… oh Jeff! Good job on making the UP people turn on you), I will make it clear that this writeup is about how I developed my Atenean pride just the way iskolars ng bayan had their UP pride and say “UP ako, ikaw?” (so there… peace to UP people).
FYI: This would be cut into two writeups as people have been requesting me to shorten my lengthy journals. If you are tired of my UAAP-related journal entries, (then why the heck are you reading this?!) sorry, this is the hot topic these days so you have to bear with me.
The Pre-Ateneo Years
I am not a pure-blooded Atenean. I did not take my elementary and high school years in the land of the Blue and White. Nevertheless, I was already aware of the well-established institution even when I was in grade school. I am not exactly sure when and how I learned of Ateneo but if you asked me during the early ‘90s (during my elementary years), my response would have been, “I think it is one of the best colleges in the country. They produce the brightest lawyers. I want to be a Civil Engineer and since it is not the main thrust of Ateneo (it’s not even offered there), my dream is to enroll my future son in there (for Law).” The only notable colleges for me then were Mapua Institute of Technology (my first dream college because my parents graduated there) and Ateneo de Manila University. I believe that the name contributed a lot in making me appreciate Ateneo. May dating kasi ang pangalan. I was not aware that UP was tops in the academic department that time. I did not regard La Salle that high as well. For me, DLSU was a university for the wealthy people and is good in basketball.
I watched UAAP even in my tender years. Those were the times when Bal David and Chris Cantonjos led UST to four straight championships usually against Jason Webb’s De La Salle Green Archers. I did not actually root for any team then. I usually tried to look for Ateneo’s standing in the back page of the local newspaper only to find the Blue Eagles at the tail end of the league. I usually remarked, “puro matatalino kasi kaya hindi masyado focused sa sports.” I said to myself that I would have easily rooted for Ateneo if they were competitive. The fact that the school’s color was blue made it more appealing to me as it was my favorite color. I grew up loving the color blue. I liked Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the blue lion in Voltron, the blue guy in Bioman. If it was not color-based, I always root for the alpha male characters. Color preference was quite similar with sports where all the teams I rooted for had blue as its dominating color: Purefoods (PBA), Atlanta Braves (MLB), and Utah Jazz (NBA). Aside from red, blue is arguably the alpha male color as well. Since red is sometimes used for females when paired with blue, can I say that blue is the alpha male color?
I grew up wanting to be on the dominant side of things when I was young. I am the eldest in our generation of cousins. I was heralded to be their ‘leader.’ In the first times I watched my favorite sports teams, I witnessed them winning or in the verge of winning championships. Case in point: the first PBA game I watched featured Purefoods winning the All-Filipino title in 1993. The team continued its All-Filipino Cup success by constantly appearing in the Finals. The first baseball game I watched featured Atlanta losing to Toronto Blue Jays in the championship match but the Braves were able to win it all in three years time. Atlanta, even though they just had one World Series win, had been a dominant team as they hold the longest streak of division titles at 14 straight years. The Utah Jazz were not able to win the NBA crown but they were the primary antagonists to Jordan’s Bulls. They all had winning traditions. If your initial experience is championship and your team stays competitive in the following years, chances are, you would have a strong foundation for supporting your team. That or I was just born to be a die-hard fan. I believe Bill Simmons’ unwavering support for the Boston Celtics grew when he was watching them piling up the championships in the ‘80s. I maybe mistaken but I believe that experiencing team success entices one to support his team further.
By the way, I already knew the notion that Ateneans were arrogant then. I did not give a damn. Ateneo is still a great school.
Years went by and by 2001, the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry was intense as they faced each other in the UAAP Finals. By that time, I was more aware of the status of universities. La Salle, unlike the 90’s, was not anymore the bridesmaid of UAAP. Ateneo, unlike the 90s, was not anymore the whipping boy of the league. The hype was very high even in our school (Don Bosco Makati) especially for us - seniors. My classmates chose sides. For me, it was a no-brainer. This was further reinforced when I became more enticed to study in Ateneo after taking up ACET. I rooted for y soon-to-be Alma Mater but I predicted La Salle to win because it was RenRen Ritualo’s final year and the Eagles lacked experience. La Salle did win that year.
In senior year, I took up four entrance tests: Ateneo – BS ME, UP – BS CE, Mapua – BS CE, DLSU – BS CE. From Grade 1 to early fourth year high, I was convinced that I will take up Civil Engineering. But since I was getting very high grades in Math and I was losing interest in drafting, Dad highly recommended me to take up Ateneo’s ME program. It is one of the best undergraduate programs and it suited my mathematical skills well. Besides, the salaries of civil engineers were not that high as well. High offers on ME grads were also being talked about then. ACET’s difficulty made me think that Ateneo is more interesting and challenging. It was easily the most difficult entrance test that time. Those reasons plus the high probability of having attractive female classmates made it a no-brainer when I found out the ACET results on January 2002. I did not even care if DLSU stated that I was on the top something percentage by offering advanced tests so that I do not need to take certain subjects. (I would have actually cared if they released the test results earlier. Haha.) As for UP, I passed it but I have already decided wholeheartedly that time.
The Lucky Freshman Year (2002)
Coming from schools with relatively weak school spirits, it would be easy on my part to be apathetic of Ateneo’s animo. I only wanted to watch the Ateneo-La Salle game for the heck of it. When I found out that the best I could get in the first round game that year was an Upper Box B ticket, I decided to watch on the TV instead. Obviously, I did not know that it was hard to get then. It had to take my Lasallian friend to invite me to watch a game – the second round of the eliminations where DLSU was poised to sweep. We had general admission tickets (Haha! Huge ‘in your face’ to me for belittling the Upper B ticket!) and we got to watch with other high school batchmates who studied in La Salle. Before the game started, taunts and cheers were thrown. The Green Side was really passionate at it (in both good and wrong ways). I felt deprived that I could not cheer for Ateneo and all I could hear were taunts against my school. But then, the dominating La Salle squad faced a huge defeat from the talented squad composed of Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez and Wesley Gonzales. I may have been silent for most of the game but I was euphoric as I saw the blue side celebrating. But because of the rising temper from where I sat, I was doubtful of raising my hands for the Alma Mater song (but I still ended up raising my hands).
That game was the turning point. Before, I would just applaud and revel whenever my favorite team wins. I experienced the usual ‘succeed in the face of adversity’ and other inspiring sports lessons when watching on TV but the experience of watching rivalry and school spirit in live color just put it into a new level. I was able to watch a PBA Finals game before but the intensity was not there. The crowd was usually sitting and they did not have cheering to pump up everyone. In contrast, seeing the sea of blue and green exchange cheers and jeers is just a beauty to behold especially if you are a die-hard fan. Since I watched it initially from the La Salle side, my school loyalty got stronger as I felt the pain of the insults and taunts hurled from the green crowd. I said to myself, “I am watching the next Ateneo-La Salle encounter live and I am going to cheer my heart against you greenies!”
Ateneo went on to face the 2nd placed UE Red Warriors that year and they had one of those classic battles where the series went in full swing. It was where Jec Chia became part of the history books as he made the Hail Mary shot that resurrected the faith of the doubting Ateneo crowd. I was ecstatically celebrating in our house after he made that remarkable jumper. Ateneo is back at the Finals and I had the feeling that this time, it is our turn to grab the title. The Blue Eagles already have their experience and were peaking at the right time. As proud Ateneans unrolled their banner “La Salle, magdasalle na kayo!” in the bleachers, I proclaimed beamingly “La Salle, get ready to have your asses handed to you and this time, I will surely watch live cheering in the Blue side!”
Truth be told, I was able to witness the epic matches. By the time the drums of the Blue Babble Band rolled in Game 1, I stood up and cheered like there was no tomorrow. Game 1 was close and it ended with the remarkable two swats by Larry Fonacier on La Salle’s slotman, Mac Cardona. I missed Game 2 because I was not able to get tickets, but it was just OK because La Salle rebounded in mighty fashion in that game. Game 3 probably triggered the ‘pagiging masikap to get tickets’ attitude from me. I arrived before 6 AM in the Ateneo Tennis Courts to find people camping out with their tents. They even had pillows and guitars as the line started before midnight. I was able to get a General Admission ticket (which went to Mom as Dad was able to buy two Gen Ad tickets the day before). History was made when the Eagles dominated the Mike Cortez-led Green Archers in that final game. After fourteen years, the crown was back in Loyola. I was jubilant after witnessing it, especially, given the fact that we won in my freshman year.
That was the story as to how I developed my strong fan support for the Hail Mary squad. As mentioned, experiencing triumph is a great foothold for die-hard fans. When the going starts to get tough in the next years, you will always find time to reminisce these moments of glory. You look upon this and you remember that you were a winner and you can continue to become one. Rich winning tradition delivers unwavering fan support.
That year, Ateneo’s slogan was “We still believe” but for me, it transformed into “Always Believe.” Ever since then, I was determined to attend games and cheer my heart out for the team. I never experienced euphoria like that in my life especially because I never had schools with remarkable school spirit. I actually used my deprivation as motivation to always treasure how it is to be part of a rich school tradition. I would also have to add that before, I rooted for teams that I am not really part of (NBA and MLB teams are in USA). But starting 2002, I felt a sense of belongingness – I am part of the school that I cheer for.
Greatness. Winning Tradition. Deprivation. Belongingness. Those were the foundations of my pride and support for the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Up to the present time, I still carry these to strengthen my determination to always support and to always believe in the Hail Mary Squad.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
I entitled this journal entry after the elitist remark that UP supporters in UAAP use: “UP kami. Kayo?” To be honest, I do not really care when they say that because I value my Alma Mater greatly that even if UP or La Salle proclaim that they are better than Ateneo in rankings, it does not matter to me at all. For me, Ateneo is the best undergraduate university in the Philippines. But before this journal entry gets misconceived as an anti-UP writeup (it’s not supposed to be anyway… oh Jeff! Good job on making the UP people turn on you), I will make it clear that this writeup is about how I developed my Atenean pride just the way iskolars ng bayan had their UP pride and say “UP ako, ikaw?” (so there… peace to UP people).
FYI: This would be cut into two writeups as people have been requesting me to shorten my lengthy journals. If you are tired of my UAAP-related journal entries, (then why the heck are you reading this?!) sorry, this is the hot topic these days so you have to bear with me.
The Pre-Ateneo Years
I am not a pure-blooded Atenean. I did not take my elementary and high school years in the land of the Blue and White. Nevertheless, I was already aware of the well-established institution even when I was in grade school. I am not exactly sure when and how I learned of Ateneo but if you asked me during the early ‘90s (during my elementary years), my response would have been, “I think it is one of the best colleges in the country. They produce the brightest lawyers. I want to be a Civil Engineer and since it is not the main thrust of Ateneo (it’s not even offered there), my dream is to enroll my future son in there (for Law).” The only notable colleges for me then were Mapua Institute of Technology (my first dream college because my parents graduated there) and Ateneo de Manila University. I believe that the name contributed a lot in making me appreciate Ateneo. May dating kasi ang pangalan. I was not aware that UP was tops in the academic department that time. I did not regard La Salle that high as well. For me, DLSU was a university for the wealthy people and is good in basketball.
I watched UAAP even in my tender years. Those were the times when Bal David and Chris Cantonjos led UST to four straight championships usually against Jason Webb’s De La Salle Green Archers. I did not actually root for any team then. I usually tried to look for Ateneo’s standing in the back page of the local newspaper only to find the Blue Eagles at the tail end of the league. I usually remarked, “puro matatalino kasi kaya hindi masyado focused sa sports.” I said to myself that I would have easily rooted for Ateneo if they were competitive. The fact that the school’s color was blue made it more appealing to me as it was my favorite color. I grew up loving the color blue. I liked Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the blue lion in Voltron, the blue guy in Bioman. If it was not color-based, I always root for the alpha male characters. Color preference was quite similar with sports where all the teams I rooted for had blue as its dominating color: Purefoods (PBA), Atlanta Braves (MLB), and Utah Jazz (NBA). Aside from red, blue is arguably the alpha male color as well. Since red is sometimes used for females when paired with blue, can I say that blue is the alpha male color?
I grew up wanting to be on the dominant side of things when I was young. I am the eldest in our generation of cousins. I was heralded to be their ‘leader.’ In the first times I watched my favorite sports teams, I witnessed them winning or in the verge of winning championships. Case in point: the first PBA game I watched featured Purefoods winning the All-Filipino title in 1993. The team continued its All-Filipino Cup success by constantly appearing in the Finals. The first baseball game I watched featured Atlanta losing to Toronto Blue Jays in the championship match but the Braves were able to win it all in three years time. Atlanta, even though they just had one World Series win, had been a dominant team as they hold the longest streak of division titles at 14 straight years. The Utah Jazz were not able to win the NBA crown but they were the primary antagonists to Jordan’s Bulls. They all had winning traditions. If your initial experience is championship and your team stays competitive in the following years, chances are, you would have a strong foundation for supporting your team. That or I was just born to be a die-hard fan. I believe Bill Simmons’ unwavering support for the Boston Celtics grew when he was watching them piling up the championships in the ‘80s. I maybe mistaken but I believe that experiencing team success entices one to support his team further.
By the way, I already knew the notion that Ateneans were arrogant then. I did not give a damn. Ateneo is still a great school.
Years went by and by 2001, the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry was intense as they faced each other in the UAAP Finals. By that time, I was more aware of the status of universities. La Salle, unlike the 90’s, was not anymore the bridesmaid of UAAP. Ateneo, unlike the 90s, was not anymore the whipping boy of the league. The hype was very high even in our school (Don Bosco Makati) especially for us - seniors. My classmates chose sides. For me, it was a no-brainer. This was further reinforced when I became more enticed to study in Ateneo after taking up ACET. I rooted for y soon-to-be Alma Mater but I predicted La Salle to win because it was RenRen Ritualo’s final year and the Eagles lacked experience. La Salle did win that year.
In senior year, I took up four entrance tests: Ateneo – BS ME, UP – BS CE, Mapua – BS CE, DLSU – BS CE. From Grade 1 to early fourth year high, I was convinced that I will take up Civil Engineering. But since I was getting very high grades in Math and I was losing interest in drafting, Dad highly recommended me to take up Ateneo’s ME program. It is one of the best undergraduate programs and it suited my mathematical skills well. Besides, the salaries of civil engineers were not that high as well. High offers on ME grads were also being talked about then. ACET’s difficulty made me think that Ateneo is more interesting and challenging. It was easily the most difficult entrance test that time. Those reasons plus the high probability of having attractive female classmates made it a no-brainer when I found out the ACET results on January 2002. I did not even care if DLSU stated that I was on the top something percentage by offering advanced tests so that I do not need to take certain subjects. (I would have actually cared if they released the test results earlier. Haha.) As for UP, I passed it but I have already decided wholeheartedly that time.
The Lucky Freshman Year (2002)
Coming from schools with relatively weak school spirits, it would be easy on my part to be apathetic of Ateneo’s animo. I only wanted to watch the Ateneo-La Salle game for the heck of it. When I found out that the best I could get in the first round game that year was an Upper Box B ticket, I decided to watch on the TV instead. Obviously, I did not know that it was hard to get then. It had to take my Lasallian friend to invite me to watch a game – the second round of the eliminations where DLSU was poised to sweep. We had general admission tickets (Haha! Huge ‘in your face’ to me for belittling the Upper B ticket!) and we got to watch with other high school batchmates who studied in La Salle. Before the game started, taunts and cheers were thrown. The Green Side was really passionate at it (in both good and wrong ways). I felt deprived that I could not cheer for Ateneo and all I could hear were taunts against my school. But then, the dominating La Salle squad faced a huge defeat from the talented squad composed of Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez and Wesley Gonzales. I may have been silent for most of the game but I was euphoric as I saw the blue side celebrating. But because of the rising temper from where I sat, I was doubtful of raising my hands for the Alma Mater song (but I still ended up raising my hands).
That game was the turning point. Before, I would just applaud and revel whenever my favorite team wins. I experienced the usual ‘succeed in the face of adversity’ and other inspiring sports lessons when watching on TV but the experience of watching rivalry and school spirit in live color just put it into a new level. I was able to watch a PBA Finals game before but the intensity was not there. The crowd was usually sitting and they did not have cheering to pump up everyone. In contrast, seeing the sea of blue and green exchange cheers and jeers is just a beauty to behold especially if you are a die-hard fan. Since I watched it initially from the La Salle side, my school loyalty got stronger as I felt the pain of the insults and taunts hurled from the green crowd. I said to myself, “I am watching the next Ateneo-La Salle encounter live and I am going to cheer my heart against you greenies!”
Ateneo went on to face the 2nd placed UE Red Warriors that year and they had one of those classic battles where the series went in full swing. It was where Jec Chia became part of the history books as he made the Hail Mary shot that resurrected the faith of the doubting Ateneo crowd. I was ecstatically celebrating in our house after he made that remarkable jumper. Ateneo is back at the Finals and I had the feeling that this time, it is our turn to grab the title. The Blue Eagles already have their experience and were peaking at the right time. As proud Ateneans unrolled their banner “La Salle, magdasalle na kayo!” in the bleachers, I proclaimed beamingly “La Salle, get ready to have your asses handed to you and this time, I will surely watch live cheering in the Blue side!”
Truth be told, I was able to witness the epic matches. By the time the drums of the Blue Babble Band rolled in Game 1, I stood up and cheered like there was no tomorrow. Game 1 was close and it ended with the remarkable two swats by Larry Fonacier on La Salle’s slotman, Mac Cardona. I missed Game 2 because I was not able to get tickets, but it was just OK because La Salle rebounded in mighty fashion in that game. Game 3 probably triggered the ‘pagiging masikap to get tickets’ attitude from me. I arrived before 6 AM in the Ateneo Tennis Courts to find people camping out with their tents. They even had pillows and guitars as the line started before midnight. I was able to get a General Admission ticket (which went to Mom as Dad was able to buy two Gen Ad tickets the day before). History was made when the Eagles dominated the Mike Cortez-led Green Archers in that final game. After fourteen years, the crown was back in Loyola. I was jubilant after witnessing it, especially, given the fact that we won in my freshman year.
That was the story as to how I developed my strong fan support for the Hail Mary squad. As mentioned, experiencing triumph is a great foothold for die-hard fans. When the going starts to get tough in the next years, you will always find time to reminisce these moments of glory. You look upon this and you remember that you were a winner and you can continue to become one. Rich winning tradition delivers unwavering fan support.
That year, Ateneo’s slogan was “We still believe” but for me, it transformed into “Always Believe.” Ever since then, I was determined to attend games and cheer my heart out for the team. I never experienced euphoria like that in my life especially because I never had schools with remarkable school spirit. I actually used my deprivation as motivation to always treasure how it is to be part of a rich school tradition. I would also have to add that before, I rooted for teams that I am not really part of (NBA and MLB teams are in USA). But starting 2002, I felt a sense of belongingness – I am part of the school that I cheer for.
Greatness. Winning Tradition. Deprivation. Belongingness. Those were the foundations of my pride and support for the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Up to the present time, I still carry these to strengthen my determination to always support and to always believe in the Hail Mary Squad.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
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