One big win

Yes, I’m quite aware that it’s been practically a month since the Ateneo Blue Eagles won the 2008 UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. I’m quite aware that the season is over. I’ve finally stopped switching to Studio 23 on weekend afternoons and wondering when the games are going to start (although they’ve been playing replays recently), going online and checking the sports section of the newspaper for updates, and worrying about how to get tickets to the next game. Perhaps the madness has subsided, but indulge me — this is my first UAAP championship ever since I officially became a Blue Eagle, and I still get giddy when I think about it.

All these years I watched games on TV and hollered from my couch. I trooped to Araneta, loaded up on free foam fingers and banners outside and cheered with the Blue Babble Batallion. (One time, I lost my voice from shrieking too loudly that I couldn’t get through my French oral exam. Thankfully, my professor was understanding.) I’m one of those fans who dwell in Upper A or B, gamely standing, cheering and clapping through the entire game. Of course, watching live depended on whether I could get tickets. Oh, getting tickets was madness, especially when it was an Ateneo-La Salle game! I lined up at the Blue Eagle gym for tickets, barely making it to my 7:30 a.m. Accounting class after one particular early morning. I owe my kind, kind friends as well for miraculously (and very kindly!) getting me tickets as well whenever they could. If I didn’t get to watch at all, I would check the sports section to find out what happened.

I witnessed a lot of wins, but also dealt with a fair share of losses. I was heartbroken when Larry Fonacier got injured in 2004 and even wore his jersey to school for two days. (I even bought a poster and hung it on my wall for the rest of my college life!) I was in tears when we lost to UST back in 2006, and I was inconsolable. I have to admit, it still stings when I remember how I trudged crossly from Araneta to the LRT station, with my face paint and my jersey, while people in yellow gleefully skipped around Gateway around me. I was surprised at how painful it felt, to come deliciously close to winning only to see the other team triumphant — to see our players play their hearts out and not bring home the championship.

As our alma mater goes, win or lose, it’s the school we choose, and each year, I never got tired of cheering for the boys. I continue to watch games and pray for the team.

This year was another memorable one for my UAAP fandom. From buying “celebratory” Ateneo jackets with my cousin (we had just won an Ateneo-Adamson game, after all) to panicking over tickets for the championships, from trying to get pictures with Nonoy Baclao and Ryan Buenafe (unfortunately, I failed) and sloshing through the muddy field during our bonfire (I survived, and more importantly, my shoes did!). My car overheated on the way to the bonfire and I apparently came out on TV while singing Take and Receive during the Thanksgiving Mass (I’ve tried looking for it on YouTube to no avail). This has been the most unforgettable year for me.

But my favorite moment of this year has to be during Game 2, with about a minute or so left in the game. After nervously holding my breath for practically four quarters, I suddenly realized that we were going to win. Not only the game, but the 2008 championships! Suddenly, as if realizing it along with me, the Ateneo crowd held up their One Big Fight banners, flipped them over to reveal “CHAMPION” on the other side, and started to cheer “Go Ateneo, One Big Fight!” It was beautiful, and I finally breathed — then started shrieking out of happiness. So this is what it felt like to win the championships! I screamed, I ran, I hugged people, I jumped, I prayed. I was, and remain, incredibly ecstatic for and thankful to the hard-working and dedicated team (especially to the graduating players Yuri Escueta and infinitely amazing Chris Tiu). This is a memory I will keep with me forever, through all the future years of my UAAP fandom. Well, until the next championship comes along!