Home court advantages and poor home ratings

Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra did not mention host Philippines. But in railing at the Southeast Asian Games’ "fixation for medals" over athletic spirit, he spoiled the Philippine lead in golds. More so since he sneered that "it’s normal to win or lose, but it’s not nice if we host such games and do this to other countries." Even more so since, at the same time in Bangkok, Jaruk Areerajakaran, head of Thailand’s Olympic Committee in charge of joining events, claimed pointblank that "the hosts are cheating."

"It shouldn’t be about winning gold medals," Thaksin wailed, told of the Filipino haul as of midweek of 138 medals, 57 of them gold. Ironically Thailand had entered the games itself obsessed for golds. Jaruk cried that the Philippines had robbed Thailand of victories in taekwondo, boxing and gymnastics. Thus, his country that is striving for sport supremacy will not attain its targeted 110-118 golds from the 395 events in 41 sports. Thailand to date has 124 medals, including 29 golds. It is only third to Vietnam’s 117 medals but 40 golds.

Could this be a case of spoilsport too early in the games? The eight-day biennial tournament was but on its fourth day when Thaksin and Jaruk served sour grapes. Only 167 of 395 possible golds have been awarded. The 7,000 athletes from 11 nations were barely warming up.

"Sadly, they did not give specifics about their complained cheating," sighed Robert Aventajado, vice chairman of both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine SEAGames Organizing Committee. He had talked with his Thai counterpart Chaiyapak Siriwat, and the latter had no grievances about the conduct of the games under a SEAGames Federation in which all countries sit. The Federation and its member-states’ committees run under Olympic policies. Objections must be written in detail to sport overseers, who promptly must settle them. As a rule, referees and officials must not be compatriots of athletes in an event. In case all countries join in one event and no other foreign arbiters are available than compatriots, they are then drawn by lot.

Still, protests of bad officiating are inevitable. The Philippines in 2003 filed four in Hanoi; Thailand also ranted against host Vietnam. But it’s not as if Filipino sportsmen are cheats. Hard has been the ’80s lesson from little league softball, when Philippine officials sent to the US players in their late teens. That episode had spurred the international yarn on why the Filipino team captain was late for the game (he had to rush his pregnant wife to the hospital). Filipinos are great gagsters about themselves too. The latest text joke is that the Philippines is leading the SEAGames medal tally because "Garci" has emerged from hiding. But the sterling Filipinos’ performance is the offshoot of their thirst for victory.

National issues affect athletes, like other citizens. Far too long have Filipinos been bashed as the basket case of Asia for political squabbling and economic failures. In world Olympics, Filipinos have had thrashings. They seek vengeance at least in regional sports.

A national goal for sporting victory amidst troubled times prodded leaders to action. Businessmen, on presidential spouse Mike Arroyo’s plea for funding, donated P200 million for athlete training. Diplomacy nudged China to help in free coaching too in some sports. The POC, noting a poorly formed national basketball team, shelved the Basketball Association of the Philippines. In sympathy the regional Federation scratched the sport from the list of events. Many other activities made for splendid preparations for the 2005 SEAGames. Thousands of youths volunteered as ushers, guides or gofers just to make the games as seamless and enjoyable as possible.

Then there’s the home court advantage that Thaksin, confessedly no sport fan, must learn about. And it has nothing to do with stuffing 3,000 suspected Muslim separatists in southern Thailand into a dozen army trucks, leading to the death by suffocation of 700. Neither is it solely about athletes gaining higher morale because cheered on by entire hometowns and schoolmates.

Filipinos, as all Asians, feel a lump in the throat when their national anthem is played for a compatriot who lands a gold – even if two of every three of them, according to polls, wish to emigrate. But hosting the games gives athletes the edge of mastering the playing fields and conditions better than the visitors. This is particularly so for men’s football, played in soccer-crazy Bacolod, or boating at Subic Bay or La Mesa Dam. It doesn’t always turn out gainfully, though. The Philippine women’s football team arrived late and harassed for the opening match in Marikina because their Filipino bus driver lost his way. Hosts and visitors were about even in swimming, held at a pool only recently opened at Los Baños, Laguna.

There’s a physical plus too in hosting. Filipino players are better fed, clothed and quartered than if they were visitors with scant stipends. They are better used to equatorial humidity. They have more time before the games for practice.

Hosting thus brings more medals. Filipinos have had more reason to learn new games – petanque, lawn bowls, pilati – and thus more chances to win than if sent in usual low-budget, undermanned delegations abroad. Add to this the traditional Filipino supremacy in triathlon, sailing, archery and many other games, and the gold haul is not surprising. Still, a Filipino sportswriter who has covered 20 years of SEAGames noted, "some of our athletes are not really spectacular by Olympic standards, it’s just that most of their opponents are dull."

Thaksin’s tirade is thus strange, considering that Thailand has hosted the SEAGames and has enjoyed advantages that Filipinos now have for the third time. Truly the aim of the tourney is to cultivate sportsmanship, but any game eventually has to end with three top-placers.

Perhaps the Thai leader’s motive can be gleaned from a news item on the same day he took the luster from the Filipino run for golds. "A Muslim insurgency, a feud with a media company owner, a stalled state asset sale, slipping popularity, and a stock market at a four month-low" are but a few of the premier’s headaches, Bloomberg reported. "An Oct. survey showed his approval rating had slipped to 58.2 percent from 77.5 percent in Feb."

There’s a high degree of public distrust of Thaksin only ten months after winning the most decisive election victory since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. He is battling a slowing economy, and accelerating inflation, trade and current accounts deficits, while deflecting criticisms of an increasingly hostile media. He’s also at odds with teachers and farmers.

And to what does Thaksin blame all this? Bad horoscope, he says, "the alignment of Mercury wasn’t auspicious." He had earlier cancelled his weekly press briefings up to yearend. After refusing for days to speak to reporters, he selectively resumed making some comments. One of those was about the Filipino gold rush.

Now, could Thaksin be using the sport-cheating issue to unite Thais behind him?

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