Almost three months. This is my longest blogging drought since 2007. There were several reasons why I stopped blogging, namely: 1) I studied for a certification exam; 2) I was supposed to write a blog a week after I passed the test but I couldn’t finish my writeup; 3) my work piled up and 4) I became lazy to write. Before, I always find time to blog whether how little my free time is. I can attribute it to passion or my “writing momentum.” In some ways or another, I lost that the past few months as I got satisfied with other carefree distractions in my free time. After all, sitting back watching plenty of TV series or movies is quite easy. If not, I have my Xbox 360 games or I go out and party. Heck, I could just tweet my thoughts on current events. I was too complacent with what I have.
For some reason or another, I am mustering my determination to finish a writeup today. There was a lot of interesting news since the last time I wrote (i.e., the hostage taking drama, LeBron’s “The Decision,” UAAP basketball games, Emmy Awards, and Mad Men being the best current drama show on TV) and I want to tackle some of it.
Where do I start? I guess I have to go with the obvious – this is the time of the year where I usually put a double effort in blogging as I analyze the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the current UAAP Season. I did not name my blog site “Atenean Fanalyst” for no reason at all. I will always be an avid sports fan and it is just fitting that I place a special importance on the team where I truly belong (since I am a product of the institution) – the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
So, where were we? A year ago, we see a dominant Ateneo squad plow through their competition by becoming the back-to-back champions. As easy as it may seem (only two losses for the whole season), I could personally attest that the Blue Eagles persevered through it. We were fresh from a championship year so the Disease of More* was apparent. The players were overconfident at times (that’s why they lost to UP) and winning the championship one more time was more of a battle against their personal demons than overpowering the competition. Thankfully, last year’s team had the winning attitude and swagger to shrug off whatever potential struggles they faced. Once again, Blue Eagle is the King.
Entering Season 73 was different. The mighty Blue Eagles may have the experience and talent but we all knew that we lost three pivotal players that were critical in the back-to-back title runs. The defensive fort (Nonoy Baclao) that constantly intimidated opposing slashers has left with our top scorer (Rabeh Al Hussaini). And of course, Jai Reyes’ leadership and clutch shooting would be sorely missed. However, aficionados know that the Blue Eagles are still the team to beat. After all, Ryan Buenafe and Nico Salva are just entering their third year. Kirk Long and Eric Salamat remain as vital cogs to the Blue Winning Machine. Above it all, the guy in command is still Norman Black. We know that we have a good chance for a three-peat. FEU might be the strongest team on paper but our two years of revelry have instilled the insurmountable confidence to the Ateneo Community. We are already in the “been there, done that” mode.
I am not sure if I share the feelings with the Loyola community but I admit that my confidence was sky high at the start of this UAAP season. I was not expecting a dominating regular season (I even predicted in Twitter that Ateneo will have more regular season losses this year than the last two combined… and I am already right), but I was confident that this team can deliver when it matters the most. And you know what? When you see the current crop of Ateneo players this year, you will notice that their confidence is oozing. Last year’s swagger might have increased further and the notion that they are an arrogant bunch might be true.
Ateneo’s first battle was against FEU. We all know what happened. The Blue Eagles fell in crunchtime as the Tamaraws used that game to start off their rally of wins which put them on the top of the league as of the present time. On the other hand, the Blue Eagles started the season quite sluggishly. Their rainbow connections were off and their defense was subpar compared to last year’s. But as a UAAP veteran, I know from experience that it is just OK to lose in the first round. I have seen more teams peaking at the right time winning in the end than first placed teams succeeding. It was just alright for me that we lost. I admit it, I was a complacent fan.
When I was a kid, I loved watching PBA games. I was accustomed to witness nailbiter games but there was this particular game that I will never forget. My favorite team was down by three points during the dwindling seconds of the game. I was so uptight as I could not even move my legs when I watched that game (I didn’t want to move them either because I don’t want to jinx my team). Mom told me not to be tense because what I am feeling is the same thing that my favorite team might be feeling. I did not heed her warning as I concentrated further on the game. You know what happened? My team choked in the end as they tried to jack desperation threes. I ended up wondering if there is indeed a mutual experience that a fan shares with his team.
Of course, it’s not exactly true but as fans, bizarre instances make us feel that such things are true. Because you get too attached to your favorite team, you suddenly think that you are mutually connected to how they feel. When you analyze how a game went, you already have the same line of thinking as pundits do before you even read their articles… this guy doesn’t have the stats but you know he is the best player of the game… it’s better to lose in the early games than in the games that matter… and so on, and so forth.
I experienced that mutual feeling when Ateneo faced La Salle in Round 1. I went there to watch the game but my passion to see DLSU lose was not there. Maybe, I was too pampered the past two years. I did not expect a rookie-laden Archer squad to even make the game close. But what was more annoying was, I could not even feel tense when the Green Archers were scoring up easy points in their fast breaks which tightened the game up. I was too confident that Ateneo will eventually dispose their green archrivals. It was like “all in a day’s work” when Ateneo led by nine in the fourth quarter. We were winning this, as usual… Mr. Overconfident Guy, I am sorry. You won’t. Ateneo soon lost their strong lead with a couple of miscues that were so uncharacteristic for a team that has specialized in beating DLSU’s press through the years. When the lead went down to a trickle of points and the Blue Gallery was starting to quiet down, I was still confident that we could pull it off. After all, the Blue Eagles were supposed to be the battle-tested veterans, right? I did not even feel the cold chills of losing in the back of my knees. I thought to myself that we were safe. Then, La Salle got the lead. Then, the Blue Eagles did not get to score. Then, we lost.
As much as I blame the team for uncharacteristically losing that won game, I have to admit that I understood why they lost. Like them, I was overly complacent. Unfortunately, that is not what victors are made of. The reason why Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson achieved greatness was because they always strived harder. There is that passion that motivates them to do more than expected. Magis**. That is the same reason why I was pissed when LeBron chose the safe route. If you have the tools, choose greatness. Strive for more. You do not choose a safe path where you can safely rest your laurels.
I do not know if I should feel bad for myself for not feeling awful after that game. I always hate it when Ateneo loses to La Salle. Except for that game. For me, it was just a loss that we needed. It was pretty much the same thing when we had the humbling loss to UP last year. I want the Blue Eagles to feel their vulnerability in order to strive harder. Champions have the sense of invincibility and arrogance in them, but wake up calls are aptly needed for them to understand what went wrong before it is too late. As for me, the loss was also good because it served as motivation for me to strive harder on studying for my exam then. Sometimes, too much winning is bad. Humbling experiences make us more self-aware so that we would know how to handle such things in the future.
We all know what happened after: Ateneo demolished its next set of opponents which eventually included the DLSU Green Archers. The sleeping giant in our team has awoken. Unfortunately, our streak ended in the UE game last week. If you ask me, it was a huge blow. It had shades of 2003 written all over it. In 2003, Ateneo was on a huge streak when it unexpectedly lost a game from a lowly ranked opponent (in 2003, it was NU). The momentum diminished and the Blue Eagles did not peak from then. It was sad because Ateneo had a powerhouse squad then.
If there is one thing we can be hopeful for, this year’s batch experienced one more championship than the 2003 grizzled veterans had.
The loss to UE may prove costly in our bid for three-peat or it could be another serving of the humble pie which nourishes us with lessons on how to handle bad shooting nights. The team may have been complacent on dealing with consecutive blowouts. It was probably the time for them to learn to win crucial games.
But after that loss, I must say that it has fueled back my passion as a fan. No more let-ups this time. One Big Fight!
As a blogger, no more complacency this time. Magis.
* - Disease of More is a term that describes the feeling of what champion teams get in the succeeding year. Players want more: more shots, more playing time, more money. They tend to forget the essence of teamwork and chemistry. Ironically, I can also consider being complacent as part of the Disease of More on a different perspective. Instead of striving for more, players become too complacent.
** - Magis means ‘more.’ This term is used by Ateneans to serve as a slogan to strive for more, to achieve more. Magis is a simplified yet broader slogan than the Bosconians/Salesians’ “do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well.”
For some reason or another, I am mustering my determination to finish a writeup today. There was a lot of interesting news since the last time I wrote (i.e., the hostage taking drama, LeBron’s “The Decision,” UAAP basketball games, Emmy Awards, and Mad Men being the best current drama show on TV) and I want to tackle some of it.
Where do I start? I guess I have to go with the obvious – this is the time of the year where I usually put a double effort in blogging as I analyze the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the current UAAP Season. I did not name my blog site “Atenean Fanalyst” for no reason at all. I will always be an avid sports fan and it is just fitting that I place a special importance on the team where I truly belong (since I am a product of the institution) – the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
So, where were we? A year ago, we see a dominant Ateneo squad plow through their competition by becoming the back-to-back champions. As easy as it may seem (only two losses for the whole season), I could personally attest that the Blue Eagles persevered through it. We were fresh from a championship year so the Disease of More* was apparent. The players were overconfident at times (that’s why they lost to UP) and winning the championship one more time was more of a battle against their personal demons than overpowering the competition. Thankfully, last year’s team had the winning attitude and swagger to shrug off whatever potential struggles they faced. Once again, Blue Eagle is the King.
Entering Season 73 was different. The mighty Blue Eagles may have the experience and talent but we all knew that we lost three pivotal players that were critical in the back-to-back title runs. The defensive fort (Nonoy Baclao) that constantly intimidated opposing slashers has left with our top scorer (Rabeh Al Hussaini). And of course, Jai Reyes’ leadership and clutch shooting would be sorely missed. However, aficionados know that the Blue Eagles are still the team to beat. After all, Ryan Buenafe and Nico Salva are just entering their third year. Kirk Long and Eric Salamat remain as vital cogs to the Blue Winning Machine. Above it all, the guy in command is still Norman Black. We know that we have a good chance for a three-peat. FEU might be the strongest team on paper but our two years of revelry have instilled the insurmountable confidence to the Ateneo Community. We are already in the “been there, done that” mode.
I am not sure if I share the feelings with the Loyola community but I admit that my confidence was sky high at the start of this UAAP season. I was not expecting a dominating regular season (I even predicted in Twitter that Ateneo will have more regular season losses this year than the last two combined… and I am already right), but I was confident that this team can deliver when it matters the most. And you know what? When you see the current crop of Ateneo players this year, you will notice that their confidence is oozing. Last year’s swagger might have increased further and the notion that they are an arrogant bunch might be true.
Ateneo’s first battle was against FEU. We all know what happened. The Blue Eagles fell in crunchtime as the Tamaraws used that game to start off their rally of wins which put them on the top of the league as of the present time. On the other hand, the Blue Eagles started the season quite sluggishly. Their rainbow connections were off and their defense was subpar compared to last year’s. But as a UAAP veteran, I know from experience that it is just OK to lose in the first round. I have seen more teams peaking at the right time winning in the end than first placed teams succeeding. It was just alright for me that we lost. I admit it, I was a complacent fan.
When I was a kid, I loved watching PBA games. I was accustomed to witness nailbiter games but there was this particular game that I will never forget. My favorite team was down by three points during the dwindling seconds of the game. I was so uptight as I could not even move my legs when I watched that game (I didn’t want to move them either because I don’t want to jinx my team). Mom told me not to be tense because what I am feeling is the same thing that my favorite team might be feeling. I did not heed her warning as I concentrated further on the game. You know what happened? My team choked in the end as they tried to jack desperation threes. I ended up wondering if there is indeed a mutual experience that a fan shares with his team.
Of course, it’s not exactly true but as fans, bizarre instances make us feel that such things are true. Because you get too attached to your favorite team, you suddenly think that you are mutually connected to how they feel. When you analyze how a game went, you already have the same line of thinking as pundits do before you even read their articles… this guy doesn’t have the stats but you know he is the best player of the game… it’s better to lose in the early games than in the games that matter… and so on, and so forth.
I experienced that mutual feeling when Ateneo faced La Salle in Round 1. I went there to watch the game but my passion to see DLSU lose was not there. Maybe, I was too pampered the past two years. I did not expect a rookie-laden Archer squad to even make the game close. But what was more annoying was, I could not even feel tense when the Green Archers were scoring up easy points in their fast breaks which tightened the game up. I was too confident that Ateneo will eventually dispose their green archrivals. It was like “all in a day’s work” when Ateneo led by nine in the fourth quarter. We were winning this, as usual… Mr. Overconfident Guy, I am sorry. You won’t. Ateneo soon lost their strong lead with a couple of miscues that were so uncharacteristic for a team that has specialized in beating DLSU’s press through the years. When the lead went down to a trickle of points and the Blue Gallery was starting to quiet down, I was still confident that we could pull it off. After all, the Blue Eagles were supposed to be the battle-tested veterans, right? I did not even feel the cold chills of losing in the back of my knees. I thought to myself that we were safe. Then, La Salle got the lead. Then, the Blue Eagles did not get to score. Then, we lost.
As much as I blame the team for uncharacteristically losing that won game, I have to admit that I understood why they lost. Like them, I was overly complacent. Unfortunately, that is not what victors are made of. The reason why Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson achieved greatness was because they always strived harder. There is that passion that motivates them to do more than expected. Magis**. That is the same reason why I was pissed when LeBron chose the safe route. If you have the tools, choose greatness. Strive for more. You do not choose a safe path where you can safely rest your laurels.
I do not know if I should feel bad for myself for not feeling awful after that game. I always hate it when Ateneo loses to La Salle. Except for that game. For me, it was just a loss that we needed. It was pretty much the same thing when we had the humbling loss to UP last year. I want the Blue Eagles to feel their vulnerability in order to strive harder. Champions have the sense of invincibility and arrogance in them, but wake up calls are aptly needed for them to understand what went wrong before it is too late. As for me, the loss was also good because it served as motivation for me to strive harder on studying for my exam then. Sometimes, too much winning is bad. Humbling experiences make us more self-aware so that we would know how to handle such things in the future.
We all know what happened after: Ateneo demolished its next set of opponents which eventually included the DLSU Green Archers. The sleeping giant in our team has awoken. Unfortunately, our streak ended in the UE game last week. If you ask me, it was a huge blow. It had shades of 2003 written all over it. In 2003, Ateneo was on a huge streak when it unexpectedly lost a game from a lowly ranked opponent (in 2003, it was NU). The momentum diminished and the Blue Eagles did not peak from then. It was sad because Ateneo had a powerhouse squad then.
If there is one thing we can be hopeful for, this year’s batch experienced one more championship than the 2003 grizzled veterans had.
The loss to UE may prove costly in our bid for three-peat or it could be another serving of the humble pie which nourishes us with lessons on how to handle bad shooting nights. The team may have been complacent on dealing with consecutive blowouts. It was probably the time for them to learn to win crucial games.
But after that loss, I must say that it has fueled back my passion as a fan. No more let-ups this time. One Big Fight!
As a blogger, no more complacency this time. Magis.
* - Disease of More is a term that describes the feeling of what champion teams get in the succeeding year. Players want more: more shots, more playing time, more money. They tend to forget the essence of teamwork and chemistry. Ironically, I can also consider being complacent as part of the Disease of More on a different perspective. Instead of striving for more, players become too complacent.
** - Magis means ‘more.’ This term is used by Ateneans to serve as a slogan to strive for more, to achieve more. Magis is a simplified yet broader slogan than the Bosconians/Salesians’ “do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well.”
No comments:
Post a Comment