The real American football deal

Filipinos playing American football in Japan.

That unusual scenario will take place in April, as the American Tackle Football Association of the Philippines (ATFAP) sends its first-ever national team – the Pilipinas Aguilas – to play in the Asian qualifier for the fifth World Championship Tournament. Just to be clear, this is not flag football or some other permutation like frisbee. This is the real deal, full contact, high impact, helmets and pads American football.

On November 12, 2013 the Philippine Olympic Committee recognized ATFAP as the only national sports association (NSA) for American football. This is a welcome development after years of hard work in putting together a league and grassroots program, which wasn’t easy. The ATFAP worked quietly to get support from its international federation and Asian counterparts to help the process along.

“We had to overcome a lot of negativity,” says ATFAP president Dodi Palma. “People were saying Filipinos are too small, we’re not built for it, and so on. But since 2009, we’ve had a league (ArenaBall Philippines) that has grown from four to five teams, with many players now learning the sport.”

ATFAP is also a full member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and received an invitation from its Asia Committee to join the qualifier for the 2015 World Championship Tournament in Sweden. Ironically, the success of the ATFAP came backwards out of necessity, since there was no physical education program or groundswell of mass support to begin with.

“We had to begin from the top by putting up a league, which created awareness,” recalls ATFAP chair Apollo Angco. “From there, those who knew the game started teaching it to others. When people started watching it, they didn’t understand it, but they knew they liked it. It has everything Filipinos like: running, throwing, catching, hitting. And if people question our size, the one thing they can’t question is the heart of the Filipino. It’s bigger than anyone else’s in the world.”

The sport also received a boost when the Tennessee Titans’ Eugene Amano actually visited the opening of ArenaBall’s fourth season and expressed his desire to see more full-blooded Filipinos make it to the NFL. The story, which appeared in The Star, quoted Amano as saying “I hope in the future I could share some knowledge to you and pass it on to the younger generation. You guys are talented and I hope the league expands even more.” Filipinos in the NFL raised awareness and funds of the plight of their countrymen who were displaced by super typhoon Haiyan last year.

But given the lack of awareness and the “Americanness” of tackle football, what is the attraction to Filipinos who are already being criticized for being obsessed with another American sport that prizes size, basketball?

“It’s the adrenaline rush,” admits wide receiver and former dragonboat paddler and mixed martial artist Wally Dela Cruz. “It’s a very masculine sport.”

For quarterback Paul Reyes, who grew up playing only football in the US, the fulfillment of having it played in the motherland is priceless.

“Being able to teach what I know and see players get better is a great feeling,” he says. “And hopefully we beat Japan and go to the World Championship for the first time ever. We’re really excited about that.”

The ATFAP is trying to unite all the flag football and other football groups, and use them as a springboard to tackle football. Though they realize there will be resistance from schools to implement what is perceived as a violent sport, they are still plugging away, in the hope that a Filipino team proves that American football can be a truly Filipino game.