Row towards one direction

After the Azkals comes the Philippine dragon boat team that won five gold medals and two silvers in the recent world championships in the United States.

The two teams have been the subject of many comparisons and also a lot of heated debate.

Some say that the dragon boat team is one made of pure Filipino breed, which obviously is meant to point out how many of the Azkals don’t look Filipino because of their foreign blood.

I would like to remind everyone that the players of both teams are Filipinos and for them to dedicate time and energy to carry the national flag in the international stage is proof enough of how they love our country.

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The dragon boat team had much difficulty securing funds to get to the world championships. Thanks to generous souls, the team made it to the event and repaid their benefactors with a quintuple gold finish.

The Azkals were on the same boat. Well, not the boat used by the rowers, but the position where the funds were low.

It took a long time for the national football team to reach this stage, because football, which is the world’s number one sport, is so well-developed in many countries that we are only ranked 162nd in the list of over 200.

Indeed it is a tall order to make an impact in the international scene and our nation had to look for those with Filipino blood, who are based abroad to boost our team’s chances.

Had we insisted on getting only local players, we would not have made it so far. In fact, this is not a new practice in Philippine sports.

We have gone Stateside in events like swimming, tennis, athletics, golf, and of course basketball, which explains why there are so many Fil-Ams in the local pro league.

We don’t have a professional football league yet, but if we do have one, I’m sure many Filipinos based abroad would be happy to come home and play.

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I am proud of a dragon boat team and long before the nation has noticed, I have always believed that rowing is one sport where our country can excel. The reason is obvious, we live in an archipelago.

More than being a sport, learning to row is also a necessary skill that we must learn being islanders.

Well, there are fastcraft and a lot of boats now plying the various routes, but rowing is a lot more fun and healthier to our bodies and the environment.

I hope that the football fans and those who are disgruntled with the Azkals would just stop trying to pull each other down.

That is the reason why the state of Philippine sports is very sad. Competitions don’t happen only in the sports arena, but also among groups all wanting to get recognition and the budget support from government.

If you really want to help sports, give way to those who can do it better and don’t insist that you hold on to your posts even if you’ve done nothing.

To the sports fans, let us not allow crab mentality to prevail. Philippine sports can be strong if we all row towards the same direction. Let us learn a simple lesson from the dragon boat team.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to my nephew Horace ‘Ace’ Acas, Virgilio ‘Biyo’ Verde, Jennifer Agdamag-Silan, Annie Santos-Tengco, Maele Aznar Barcenilla, and my first mentor in journalism Prof. Fe N. Reyes, who turned a year older last Monday.

The same goes to Brucedy Chan, who celebrated yesterday.

Today’s greetings go to Dr. Connie Camaya-Villafania, Mia Bañez-Clerigo, Sonia Yuvallos, Miriam Uy, and Club Filipino President Ramon ‘Boboy’ Durano IV, who are turning a year older today.

More power to all of you!