Globalization of Sports' Stars
August 28, 2005 | 12:00am
Don't look now but the sports world is going through some crazy times. When Indonesian-born Tony Gunawan paired with Vietnamese-born Howard Bach to win the gold medal for men's doubles at the World Badminton Championship, they represented the United States. Nope, Gunawan is not an Indonesian-American nor is Bach a Viet-Am although he left Vietnam at the tender age of two. But Bruce Springsteen's hit song "Born in the USA" was blaring over the stadium's speakers to celebrate the win as if they were true-blue Americans.
But that's not it. France's #1 ladies player is, get this, Pi Hongyan while Yao Jie and Mia Audina Tjiptawan are the best of the Netherlands. Just the mere mention of their names will lead one to make an educated doubt about them having any French, Dutch or European blood in them. And this is just a partial list.
What do all these athletes have in common? They all represent a country other than their place of birth. In sum, they're all "imports" playing for an adopted country. Gunawan is Indonesian. Bach is Vietnamese. Pi Hongyan and Yao Jie are Chinese while Mia Audina is Indonesian. But all have opted to apply for citizenship in their new countries of residence (to use the technical term).
Badminton, though, isn't the only sport that is experiencing this sudden opening of the international market. Basketball has been one of the more celebrated events where the international market has suddenly gate-crashed into what has been a predominantly American-dominated pool of stars. But then the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon excelled and later took up U.S. citizenship. It has gone to the extent that foreign-born players have already achieved superstar status in the NBA, a feat never thought possible before. Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitski and Tony Parker are now at the same level as their American pop idols in the NBA.
And before we forget, Tiger Woods is half Thai-American. Maria Sharapova is a pure Russian who has lived the American dream, but who has still hung on to her Russian citizenship (for now). Martina Navratilova, Nadia Comaneci, and the list goes on, and on and on.
It's only logical and unavoidable that talk about the influx of all these international stars will have some effect on us Pinoys. The Fil-Am and Fil-sham controversies have been so hot that fervent nationalists have adamantly demanded that no foreigner be allowed to represent the country in international events, or even play on local shores. Just as the first world countries have opened their arms to the entry of foreigners, here we are shutting them out.
If the U.S. had celebrated the win of Gunawan and Bach with such a big fuss, how would we Pinoys have reacted if they had won the gold medal for us? That's not even close to Eric Menk and Andy Seigle playing for the tricolors of the country. At least, they have some Pinoy blood in them.
The funny thing is that here in the Philippines, the diehard basketball fans are very keen on not allowing foreigners to play in the league. Here we are arguing to the high heavens that Asi Taulava isn't a Pinoy while the likes of Tony Gunawan, Yao Jie, Mia Audina Tjiptawan and Pi Hongyan have been welcomed by their adopted countries with open arms. Meanwhile, there is a Philippine born American named Alex Compton who has not been allowed to play in the PBA since he was not a Pinoy.
The U.S. and most European countries have decided to look at the international market for quality talent, and these new recruits have done a tremendous job of uplifting the level of sports in these countries even if their names don't sound "authentic." I mean when will we ever comprehend that Pi Hongyan is a German? Huh? As in Deutsche? Ja!
It's rather ironic to see that while the whole sports world is opening up its borders and doors to the vast pool of talents of people from anywhere, we in the Philippines have stubbornly hung on to the Pinoys only policy. Unpopular though it may sound, the time may be ripe to start assessing whether or not this is a boon or a bane to local sports.
I know it's a very delicate and ticklish issue that rouses the nationalist sentiment in us Pinoys, but we must all admit that it now deserves a second look.
Globalization has brought down borders, opened up markets and have brought people closer throughout the world. And sports has been right in there with the flow of all these developments. Where are we in all this?
Time-out: Happy birthday to my nephew Don Paolo Navarro and to Freddie "D German" Madamba.
You can reach me at [email protected].
But that's not it. France's #1 ladies player is, get this, Pi Hongyan while Yao Jie and Mia Audina Tjiptawan are the best of the Netherlands. Just the mere mention of their names will lead one to make an educated doubt about them having any French, Dutch or European blood in them. And this is just a partial list.
What do all these athletes have in common? They all represent a country other than their place of birth. In sum, they're all "imports" playing for an adopted country. Gunawan is Indonesian. Bach is Vietnamese. Pi Hongyan and Yao Jie are Chinese while Mia Audina is Indonesian. But all have opted to apply for citizenship in their new countries of residence (to use the technical term).
Badminton, though, isn't the only sport that is experiencing this sudden opening of the international market. Basketball has been one of the more celebrated events where the international market has suddenly gate-crashed into what has been a predominantly American-dominated pool of stars. But then the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon excelled and later took up U.S. citizenship. It has gone to the extent that foreign-born players have already achieved superstar status in the NBA, a feat never thought possible before. Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitski and Tony Parker are now at the same level as their American pop idols in the NBA.
And before we forget, Tiger Woods is half Thai-American. Maria Sharapova is a pure Russian who has lived the American dream, but who has still hung on to her Russian citizenship (for now). Martina Navratilova, Nadia Comaneci, and the list goes on, and on and on.
It's only logical and unavoidable that talk about the influx of all these international stars will have some effect on us Pinoys. The Fil-Am and Fil-sham controversies have been so hot that fervent nationalists have adamantly demanded that no foreigner be allowed to represent the country in international events, or even play on local shores. Just as the first world countries have opened their arms to the entry of foreigners, here we are shutting them out.
If the U.S. had celebrated the win of Gunawan and Bach with such a big fuss, how would we Pinoys have reacted if they had won the gold medal for us? That's not even close to Eric Menk and Andy Seigle playing for the tricolors of the country. At least, they have some Pinoy blood in them.
The funny thing is that here in the Philippines, the diehard basketball fans are very keen on not allowing foreigners to play in the league. Here we are arguing to the high heavens that Asi Taulava isn't a Pinoy while the likes of Tony Gunawan, Yao Jie, Mia Audina Tjiptawan and Pi Hongyan have been welcomed by their adopted countries with open arms. Meanwhile, there is a Philippine born American named Alex Compton who has not been allowed to play in the PBA since he was not a Pinoy.
The U.S. and most European countries have decided to look at the international market for quality talent, and these new recruits have done a tremendous job of uplifting the level of sports in these countries even if their names don't sound "authentic." I mean when will we ever comprehend that Pi Hongyan is a German? Huh? As in Deutsche? Ja!
It's rather ironic to see that while the whole sports world is opening up its borders and doors to the vast pool of talents of people from anywhere, we in the Philippines have stubbornly hung on to the Pinoys only policy. Unpopular though it may sound, the time may be ripe to start assessing whether or not this is a boon or a bane to local sports.
I know it's a very delicate and ticklish issue that rouses the nationalist sentiment in us Pinoys, but we must all admit that it now deserves a second look.
Globalization has brought down borders, opened up markets and have brought people closer throughout the world. And sports has been right in there with the flow of all these developments. Where are we in all this?
You can reach me at [email protected].
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