Armstrong and Phl sports

The gargantuan fall from grace experienced by Lance Armstrong is just one screaming example of how betraying the trust of sports fans is such a precarious thing. As they say, you can only fool some of the people, some of the time. You can never fool all of the people all of the time. In Armstrong’s case, he had gone so far down the road, there really was no way back. No matter how much he tries to repent and even offer to clean up the sport, he will find no redemption for a very long time.

Of course, Armstrong’s doping scandal is not the only form of cheating society frowns upon. Tiger Woods’s multiple alleged infidelities created in the public’s mind the image of a man so unable to cope with success that it went to his head, not to mention other extremities. A sense of entitlement never really serves an athlete in the long term, no matter if you are the best in the world at your sport.

In the Philippines, there are similar cases of athletes, teams and even sports associations that have lost out on lucrative sponsorships simply because of misbehavior and some personality clashes. Winning may have the capacity to blind people to certain character flaws, but some offenses are nigh unforgivable, especially in an Asian country where losing face is everything.

If you recall, less than two years ago, the Philippine Rugby Volcanoes created a stir – make that a sensation – with a rather eye-popping thirty-foot wide crotch shot promoting a local brand of underwear along EDSA. The billboard of the entire team alongside it went practically unnoticed. The traffic-stopped proved such a distraction that the MMDA ordered all provocative advertising removed forthwith. Of course, many females complained that they weren’t being given a fair chance to ogle.

Such a scandalously prominent display of... prominence (by which member of the Volcanoes this writer considers inappropriate to reveal) should have cast a negative pall on the team. Instead, it had the opposite effect, catapulting the men’s team into mainstream awareness, both as a catalyst and as an alternative to the hyped and equally good-looking Azkals. The following year, the Volcanoes were invited to the Hong Kong Sevens, played their first international tournament on home soil, were promoted to the elite division in Fifteens, and earned a trip to the Rugby Sevens World Cup. Everybody knew them as “those billboard boys”, but when Fiji Rugby posted snide comments inferring impurity of their race, thousands pounced on the offensive remarks online, forcing multiple apology. Ah, the power of a billboard.

But not everybody is as lucky. For example, a large dairy product manufacturer allegedly refuses to sponsor a training academy of national footballers because the pair supposedly sided with a football official the sponsor did not approve of. This once again proves that it’s not what you know, but who you know, or even who you choose. Hopefully, they patch things up so everybody’s happy. It’s been going on for a couple of years.

Also, this writer learned that a multinational company was considering sponsoring the Philippine football team until the controversial and temporary rift between the team and the Younghusband brothers. Even when this writer tried to explain to the company’s Philippine marketing head that the issue was extremely brief and that the two were onboard, the decision was already made. “We don’t want the controversy” was the simple and understandable reply.

On a more positive front, the Philippine distributor of an international computer brand revealed to this writer that they have joined forces with their counterparts in China to acquire the services of an NBA All-Star as their brand endorser in the region. Apparently, the manufacturer and distributor’s representatives had been in contact with another NBA superstar who agreed to the terms, until his agent screwed up the negotiations. Ironically, the original endorser’s readiness to sign contradicted his reputation as being difficult to deal with. But his agent’s haughtiness botched the contract.

There are many factors to consider when sponsoring: price, recognizability of the player or team being sponsored, duration of the deal, and current events. As one PBA coach once told me after winning a championship, “Now I’ll be a genius for the next two years.” Being perceived as a winner buys you a longer honeymoon. Losing or losing it in one way or another throws it all away.