Manny shouldn't grab all the glory

When Manny Pacquiao recently came out with a major public statement, I figured the retired boxing icon would announce his plan to return to politics. He did very well in 2022 and could have made president had BBM not been in the mix. But 2028 is still some way off. There is however a Senate race in 2025. I really thought that was where Pacquiao was going.

I was terribly mistaken. What the Pacman wants to do now is return to the ring as an amateur and compete in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Given who Pacquiao is, I am sure a way can be found for him to make the team. He may be 44, but I am sure he can make a good account of himself in Paris and get the gold that has been his childhood dream.

An Olympic gold may be his childhood dream. But clearly, God has chosen to carve out another path for him, one that brought unimaginable wealth, fame and power to him, his family and his   friends and incredible honor and pride to his country. He owns the title to eight different weight divisions, a feat that can never be matched ever.

When Hidelyn Diaz won the Philippines' first ever Olympic gold in women's weightlifting in Tokyo 2020 (held 2021 because of the pandemic) it didn't matter that many could not identify with weightlifting or that they didn't know Hidelyn from Eve. A gold is a gold. It had been a quest that had frustrated the Philippines for a very long time.  And when it came it can only have come from God. In much the same way that God closed the door on Olympic gold for Pacquiao but opened a window for him to attain far greater than he can get his hands on, so has God held in reserve the same opportunities for everyone. Everything comes in time for those who wait and persevere.

Success in sports provides a real opportunity to get a better shot at life. But for the very long wait of Hidelyn, how many dreams of young men and women before and after her lay shattered on the wayside because it was just not meant to be, in a manner and time they would have preferred. Pacquiao doesn't have to add to their frustrations by coming in so they might not.

Inclusion in any Philippine Team is very tight. Tighter still if Pacquiao comes in as a shoo in. That closes the door on so many other hopefuls. And for what? Just so Manny can ride his horse to the sunset in one last blazing flash of personal glory. He has a big chance of winning gold. But it will be gold for himself. It won't be something Filipinos can feel proud.

The thought that really struck me was that "pagkadawo baya sad aning Manny oy, para na lang unta na sa mga batan-on nga naa pay chance mouswag ang ilang kinabuhi.  Unsa pa may tuyo ni Manny nga hapit naa na man niya tanan.”  Manny has a legacy worth its weight in gold. He should not cheapen with bad taste. He should maintain the dignity of his honor.

Never mind his other career as politician as there is not much expectation there. But as a sports hero, he inspires thousands of young boys and girls who all want to be a Manny Pacquiao someday. Manny cannot allow himself to derail such lofty goals by becoming their main competitor, one who can probably make the cut by just being himself.

Manny no longer needs to aspire for more. To be sure he has quite a number of things in his bucket list. But as a man made wise by the ways of the world, he knows he cannot have everything. There are things that are not meant to be. If you insist you might incur the ire of God. You might lose more than what you bargained for.