Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last July 5, 2008.
Four hours… Son of a… It’s been four hours and I am still standing and persevering my aching legs as I line up to get my tickets for the first Ateneo-La Salle game this year. I already endured the raindrops three hours back because all I had for shelter were the leaves of the tall tree near the Blue Eagle Gym. I even had to forget the fact that my leather shoes got terribly muddy. I was on the verge of screaming to the ticket vendors that I still have to come to office that day. If not for our flexi-time and my lengthy stay at the office the past day, I would have gone mad of not being productive. If not for Caress’ iTouch, I would have been bored and pissed off by the freaking long line. The things that I do for school spirit…
But guess what, it’s just another day in the life of a die-hard Atenean lining up for his UAAP tickets. I have experienced the same long line last year and by all means, I should be thankful that I got Upper B tickets even though I arrived an hour late. I have to grateful that this is a venue to regain the passion that I lost for quite some time already. When did I really lose passion for my Ateneo Blue Eagles after all these years of religiously watching Ateneo-La Salle games (the streak started on Game 3 of the 2002 Finals)?
But come to think of it, do I still have the same freaking passion for the disappointing team as compared to the past years? It has been five years and counting and my school has not yet won a Men’s Basketball championship. Year in and year out, Ateneo fields a legit lineup which would be enough for us, fans, to dream of winning the championship. From 2002 to the present, the Ateneo alumni have never failed in hyping the rookies that we get each year. I can still reminisce my very first year of reading the Internet forums knowing the recruitment battle between Ateneo and La Salle for Xavier School’s prized player – Chris Tiu. We got him but La Salle got the underhyped JV Casio who has beaten Chris (value-wise) in every UAAP season except for the past two ones. Jobe Nkemakolam and Ken Barracosso then had their early fame the next year. Both were successful – in becoming disappointments. Japeth Aguilar was touted to be the future of Philippine basketball and when every Ateneo hopeful was convinced he was the real thing, he went to the US. In fairness, I never read of any hype on Eric Salamat but he was not a breakout player in his rookie season. Last year showed the most hope as we had two decent rooks. This year? Probably the most hyped Atenean rookie class in the past five years.
But still, which school did I predict to win it all this year? DLSU Green Archers. Yes, that’s right – coming from the mouth (or fingertips) of a die-hard Atenean who passionately wants La Salle to lose in every Ateneo-La Salle Game. Maybe if today was two or three years ago, I would have confidently said that Ateneo will win it. Anyway, I was always biased for my team until now. Let’s face it. They were nothing but runners-up for the past years. Team Ateneo seemed to be built to be that strong team only to lose its glory to their archrival so that they can bask on the former’s glory. It had been a heartbreak for me for the past four years. I am too pessimistic to say that Ateneo will win it.
Every sports fan experiences such. Unless you are a bandwagon ‘root for the best team’ kind of fake fan, you will have to endure years of watching your team fail and fail. The only thing that makes you hold on to them is for school pride and spirit. You believed and you get more frustrated. How will I forget the dominant Blue Eagle lineup of Season ’69 only to get shocked by the UST Tigers in the end? Yeah, I gave them praise but a loss is a loss. How about the year when La Salle finally swept Ateneo that had an ending of Yeo and his group of cocky Lasallians ‘posing for a picture taking’ to mock the Atenean who was taking his freethrows? Man, I find it hard to look at the Blue Eagle Team when I was singing my Alma Mater song in the end. Well, that was the worst team I’ve seen because only LA Tenorio seemed to have heart that time. Last year was the best chance to win the championship. The team was peaking at the right time (as I was predicting a UE implosion somewhere in the end) only to have their momentum erased by an NU squad. UE imploded – but for the wrong team. Ateneo, again, choked when it mattered the most. After all those years of wasting my precious time and energy just to buy tickets, all I got was a bad ending year in and year out.
Those were the sad years. Why the hell am I still watching if all I have been getting disappointment every now and then?
Why? This brings me to another question: Why did I had the passion to watch UAAP games in the first place? My very first UAAP game to watch was an Ateneo-La Salle game on the La Salle side. This was because my Lasallian friend had to invite me to watch it. Ateneo gave La Salle its first loss of the season then. 13-1. That very same season was also the same season Ateneans almost lost hope for their team because after being touted as the team to beat in the start of the season, they fell to fifth place in the latter midway of the season. That very same season was the time when Gec Chia hit the Hail Mary shot that sent the Hail Mary squad back to the finals against the Green Archers. That very same season made Ateneo the Cinderella Team that beat the almost invincible La Salle Squad in the finals. That was the year when I had my personal slogan of “Always Believe” (taken from the Ateneo slogan that year, “We still believe”). That was the kind of definitive moment that any sports fan would love to see.
It was bitter and it was sweet. That’s the freaking life of a fan who avidly roots for his team. You risk every game of having disappointment in the end. But you also have that chance to achieve that definitive moment. But most of all, you always have the chance to feel proud of your school, win or lose.
To the Ateneo Blue Eagles 2008: You guys have the deadliest lineup ever since the 2002 team. However, I did not predict that you will win the championship. You might not be the most likely team that will win IT in my books, but I will always believe. But please, after all the hype and the benefits that you guys have, give us - your fans - that definitive moment again. This is for all the fans who waste their half of the day lining up for tickets. This is for all the fans who cheer for their team despite of being down by 14 points. This is for all the fans who endured getting teased every year because their school lost. This is for all the fans who never gave up and had the heart to shout ‘ONE BIG FIGHT!’ despite the fact that their team is still down by two points with just a few seconds left in the regulation clock. Ateneo Blue Eagles, please have that HEART to win it all. Offer it to us, the Sixth Man. One Big Fight! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Four hours… Son of a… It’s been four hours and I am still standing and persevering my aching legs as I line up to get my tickets for the first Ateneo-La Salle game this year. I already endured the raindrops three hours back because all I had for shelter were the leaves of the tall tree near the Blue Eagle Gym. I even had to forget the fact that my leather shoes got terribly muddy. I was on the verge of screaming to the ticket vendors that I still have to come to office that day. If not for our flexi-time and my lengthy stay at the office the past day, I would have gone mad of not being productive. If not for Caress’ iTouch, I would have been bored and pissed off by the freaking long line. The things that I do for school spirit…
But guess what, it’s just another day in the life of a die-hard Atenean lining up for his UAAP tickets. I have experienced the same long line last year and by all means, I should be thankful that I got Upper B tickets even though I arrived an hour late. I have to grateful that this is a venue to regain the passion that I lost for quite some time already. When did I really lose passion for my Ateneo Blue Eagles after all these years of religiously watching Ateneo-La Salle games (the streak started on Game 3 of the 2002 Finals)?
But come to think of it, do I still have the same freaking passion for the disappointing team as compared to the past years? It has been five years and counting and my school has not yet won a Men’s Basketball championship. Year in and year out, Ateneo fields a legit lineup which would be enough for us, fans, to dream of winning the championship. From 2002 to the present, the Ateneo alumni have never failed in hyping the rookies that we get each year. I can still reminisce my very first year of reading the Internet forums knowing the recruitment battle between Ateneo and La Salle for Xavier School’s prized player – Chris Tiu. We got him but La Salle got the underhyped JV Casio who has beaten Chris (value-wise) in every UAAP season except for the past two ones. Jobe Nkemakolam and Ken Barracosso then had their early fame the next year. Both were successful – in becoming disappointments. Japeth Aguilar was touted to be the future of Philippine basketball and when every Ateneo hopeful was convinced he was the real thing, he went to the US. In fairness, I never read of any hype on Eric Salamat but he was not a breakout player in his rookie season. Last year showed the most hope as we had two decent rooks. This year? Probably the most hyped Atenean rookie class in the past five years.
But still, which school did I predict to win it all this year? DLSU Green Archers. Yes, that’s right – coming from the mouth (or fingertips) of a die-hard Atenean who passionately wants La Salle to lose in every Ateneo-La Salle Game. Maybe if today was two or three years ago, I would have confidently said that Ateneo will win it. Anyway, I was always biased for my team until now. Let’s face it. They were nothing but runners-up for the past years. Team Ateneo seemed to be built to be that strong team only to lose its glory to their archrival so that they can bask on the former’s glory. It had been a heartbreak for me for the past four years. I am too pessimistic to say that Ateneo will win it.
Every sports fan experiences such. Unless you are a bandwagon ‘root for the best team’ kind of fake fan, you will have to endure years of watching your team fail and fail. The only thing that makes you hold on to them is for school pride and spirit. You believed and you get more frustrated. How will I forget the dominant Blue Eagle lineup of Season ’69 only to get shocked by the UST Tigers in the end? Yeah, I gave them praise but a loss is a loss. How about the year when La Salle finally swept Ateneo that had an ending of Yeo and his group of cocky Lasallians ‘posing for a picture taking’ to mock the Atenean who was taking his freethrows? Man, I find it hard to look at the Blue Eagle Team when I was singing my Alma Mater song in the end. Well, that was the worst team I’ve seen because only LA Tenorio seemed to have heart that time. Last year was the best chance to win the championship. The team was peaking at the right time (as I was predicting a UE implosion somewhere in the end) only to have their momentum erased by an NU squad. UE imploded – but for the wrong team. Ateneo, again, choked when it mattered the most. After all those years of wasting my precious time and energy just to buy tickets, all I got was a bad ending year in and year out.
Those were the sad years. Why the hell am I still watching if all I have been getting disappointment every now and then?
Why? This brings me to another question: Why did I had the passion to watch UAAP games in the first place? My very first UAAP game to watch was an Ateneo-La Salle game on the La Salle side. This was because my Lasallian friend had to invite me to watch it. Ateneo gave La Salle its first loss of the season then. 13-1. That very same season was also the same season Ateneans almost lost hope for their team because after being touted as the team to beat in the start of the season, they fell to fifth place in the latter midway of the season. That very same season was the time when Gec Chia hit the Hail Mary shot that sent the Hail Mary squad back to the finals against the Green Archers. That very same season made Ateneo the Cinderella Team that beat the almost invincible La Salle Squad in the finals. That was the year when I had my personal slogan of “Always Believe” (taken from the Ateneo slogan that year, “We still believe”). That was the kind of definitive moment that any sports fan would love to see.
It was bitter and it was sweet. That’s the freaking life of a fan who avidly roots for his team. You risk every game of having disappointment in the end. But you also have that chance to achieve that definitive moment. But most of all, you always have the chance to feel proud of your school, win or lose.
To the Ateneo Blue Eagles 2008: You guys have the deadliest lineup ever since the 2002 team. However, I did not predict that you will win the championship. You might not be the most likely team that will win IT in my books, but I will always believe. But please, after all the hype and the benefits that you guys have, give us - your fans - that definitive moment again. This is for all the fans who waste their half of the day lining up for tickets. This is for all the fans who cheer for their team despite of being down by 14 points. This is for all the fans who endured getting teased every year because their school lost. This is for all the fans who never gave up and had the heart to shout ‘ONE BIG FIGHT!’ despite the fact that their team is still down by two points with just a few seconds left in the regulation clock. Ateneo Blue Eagles, please have that HEART to win it all. Offer it to us, the Sixth Man. One Big Fight! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
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