This is Cebu football!

If you’re a Cebuano, stand up and be proud. Be proud of “Face Off,” Cebu’s biggest international sports event of the year, maybe even the decade (or two). Even if it was “only” an international friendly or “exhibition” game, Face Off placed Cebu Football on the football map. It made a statement that Cebu Football is capable of putting up an event of international magnitude. Yes, I’m biased. But you can ask anyone who was there or who watched it on TV about how they felt about Face Off. And I’m confident that you won’t hear too many serious and major negative feedback.

They say that an indicator of a good movie is how much talk it generates a day after. It’s called the “day after” meter. From Facebook, to websites and loose talk on the streets, all I heard were ooh’s and aah’s about Face Off. This ranged from man of match Ed Sacapano’s superb play as goalkeeper, to Marwin Angeles’s goal in the 54th minute, to the football-mad crowd that filled up the Cebu City Sports Center as if it was the Sinulog. A lot of talk was about the grass on a field that was once called a “dust bin” or “dust bowl.”

The beauty of Face Off was that it was the total “whole” of it that made it click. It wasn’t just one aspect that stood out. It all started with the core product itself: Azkals football. Ever since the Azkals rose to prominence in 2010, nothing has stopped its growing popularity and level of play. The Azkals had never played in Cebu before, leaving Cebu Football physically “distant” from the latest football hit. Neither was it acceptable that Bacolod had hosted an Azkals game before Cebu. Thus, the full-house crowd said it all. The Azkals football fever sold itself and it was a matter of implementing a communication campaign to keep fans in the loop of the activities. Having the Azkals present at last Sunday’s opening ceremonies of the 15th Aboitiz Football Cup, Cebu’s premier football tournament, also helped a lot in drumming up interest among fans all week-long. The mix of radio and print ads, and the use of social websites also added to the information drive. Then you had the determination of the event’s main organizers to get it done. The Cebu Football Association (CFA) committed itself to hosting a good one, and bent over to get it done. Not much has been said about the hundreds of unsung heroes who poured in their time, efforts and sleepless nights to ensure that everything went as planned. Did you see those who made sure that the grass was world class? Did you see those construction workers who toiled to set up the extension bleachers, repair the facilities and build the necessary infrastructure? Then you had the people who took care of simple things such as making the event ID’s, pool together volunteer marshals, make simple frames for streamers and backdrops, and then print-and-paste all 7,000 seat numbers.

The game ended up being the icing on the cake for all these heroes. Sacapano’s brilliance and Marwin’s goal were a fitting testament that Cebu deserved a win despite being outplayed by Singapore for much of the first half. With the crowd endlessly cheering them on, the Azkals never gave in and gifted the crowd with what they wished for. The Azkals defense also played a huge role with Juani Guirado and Rob Gier manning the fort beautifully. Phil and James Younghusband humbled themselves and accepted their roles as reserves to come off the bench. When they came on the field to start the second half, they made the offense click with Phil taking care of the perfect cross that led to the goal. The crowd was just amazing. It was a big party out there with everyone following the chants of the Kaholeros who were seated on the other side of the stadium. Faces and bodies were painted. Azkals shirts were dominant. Young and old, rich and poor sang a united song as if it were scripted. They screamed and celebrated when Marwin Angeles scored the goal and unanimously exhaled a sigh of “saying” when we missed a number of near goals. They also held their breath together when Singapore threatened to strike. And when the Sinulog cheer was chanted, the entire stadium was one big chorus. The celebration was on when the fireworks display was set off ironically to end the day. The party had just begun.          

We’ll also be the first to admit that Face Off wasn’t perfect. And I’m sure there are many cynics out there who would love to hit Cebu Football for these. Lighting could’ve been improved. Parking was a concern. Crowd management in certain areas needed more “control.” But even these bumps made Face Off even sweeter. Without these, Face Off might’ve ended up being a boring event.

Goose bumps. This was how we all felt when the traditional opening ceremony for the game was taking place. Some even shed a tear (didn’t you?). This was the moment. Were we dreaming? We were in awe but so happy. We were proud.

This is Cebu Football!

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Time-out: Thanks to all for praying for Face Off’s success. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].