WHO LOVES A LOSER?
By Manny Piñol
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 20 Sep 2005
“In my heyday, young girls wrote to me. Everybody seemed to have time to devote to me. Everything I did the world applauded.”
Sounds familiar?
That is not an ageing boxer’s swan song. The lines actually are part of an immortal Matt Monro song about a singer who was starting to notice that the crowd in his concerts was thinning.
But it might as well be the theme song of a boxer who could not win fights anymore or a politician whose fiery oratories could no longer capture the voters’ imagination.
Manny Pacquiao has not appreciated the lyrics of the song yet. As of today, he still enjoys the adoration of the whole nation and the crowd is always ready to embrace him wherever he goes.
Last Friday, at the lobby of the Manila Hotel where he stayed following his arrival from the United States, I saw Manny Pacquiao make his way from his MacArthur Suite to the coffee shop to talk to a group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen trying to negotiate an endorsement contract for a sports apparel.
He was followed by a coterie of about 20 to 25 people of all sizes and looks, faces that I hardly saw when Manny Pacquiao was still a struggling fighter earning a few thousand pesos from every bone-breaking fight.
When he saw me and a group of friends, Manny Pacquiao flashed a warm smile and proceeded to sit beside me.
“I don’t drink anymore,” he told me in a tone of a penitent talking to a father confessor.
“Very good,” I told him patting his back and added “I hope you stop getting inside the cockpit and pitting your roosters because if you are accidentally cut by that sharp knife, you could be sidelined for a year.”
“You are right,” he answered back.
When he saw my 3-year-old son, Imman, playing with a deck of card, he decided to show me a card trick which I have to admit impressed me.
He then posed for a picture with my son, stood up and said goodbye.
“Next time we meet, I will show you more card tricks,” he said as he turned his back and proceeded to the coffee shop following by the group of about 25 people of all sizes – some wearing dark glasses, others long-haired and a few chinky-eyed.
And I asked myself: “How many of these people will still be around when Manny Pacquiao would no longer be champion?”
Last Sunday, I saw Luisito Espinosa being interviewed in San Francisco by ABS-CBN shortly after he was awarded a plaque of appreciation by the consulate for his contributions to Philippine sports.
Louie talked about fighting for “his countrymen” but somehow, the words no longer had the sting. I think Espinosa has started to realize that all the talk about him fighting again is nothing but wistful thinking.
The TV camera’s frame was empty except for the image of a former world champion, a forlorn figure fighting a lonely battle to redeem himself.. In his heyday, that frame would be filled with all sorts of faces trying to squeeze themselves into that small space just to be seen with a sports hero.
Who loves a champion? Everybody. Ask Manny Pacquiao.
Who loves a loser? Nobody. Oh well, except for a few loyal friends. Ask Luisito Espinosa.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.
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