WE ARE TO BLAME FOR SETTING THE BAR TOO HIGH
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 04 Jul 2011
The failure of Mark Melligen in San Antonio, Texas and that of Edrin Dapudong in Hermosillo, Mexico over the weekend as expected brought forth the usual Monday morning quarterbacks in many of us, the Filipino boxing ?fans.?
Many started the usual finger-pointing which is now the standard fare amongst Filipino fans whenever a Filipino boxer fails to win a big fight.
Such negative comments are uncalled for, particularly those who refer to the boxers as ?bums.? They are extremely hurtful as well.
The same is true for those who refer to the trainers as ?no good? or ?have limited in abilities? and to the managers and promoters as ?greedy.?
What is sad about these comments is the fact that those who make them, if given the same opportunities to fight, train or manage would not do any better. Mostly are ?Johnny-Come-Lately? type of a guy. But, they run their mouths as if they are ?Mr. Know It All.?
Worse, they do it all hiding behind their computers and many times using false identities so that they can not be identified.
Pathetic, to say the least.
While there is nothing wrong with criticizing things that don?t fall within our personal realm of expectations, it?s different when such are done in a way that insults the very core of the persona of these fighters, trainers and managers.
Part of the problem, I believe is the fact that we have set the bar too high. We expect everyone to be like Manny Pacquiao. The problem is there is only one Pacquiao and it may take many years for another to come along.
I think it?s best if we just shift our thinking, do a paradigm shift if we may and turn negative thoughts into something positive.
Instead of putting down the boxers, trainers and manager, why don?t we for a change write encouraging words that would help boast the moral of these people?
If we show appreciation and support, perhaps that would make them work harder and reach further beyond the box and ultimately do what we expect them to do.
Oh, along the way, it would help if we support local boxing promotions by buying tickets to the events instead of trying to get in for free or watching a fight free via a ?live-stream.?
Perhaps the huge private Philippine corporations, local or multinational, can help as well. Instead of spending gazillion of money on basketball and other sports where through no fault of our own (we are short and don?t have the proper body mass) we will never ever win a world championship, why don?t they sponsor events regularly to support our boxers who have a better chance of bringing us world honors.
Part of the reason why Mexico produces plenty of champions is because they get support from the fans and most especially from private corporations.
Have you guys ever heard of Tecate and Corona? Yes, they are the people who make those famous beers. They are also the same people who support Mexican boxing year in and year out thus helping produce some of the very best boxers in their country.
We have set the bar for boxing to high.
But unless we the fans and the big money people in our country do their part by supporting boxing as a whole and unless we shift our thinking and start encouraging our boxers, trainers and managers instead of putting them down, each time they hit a bump, we will stay nailed in our present situation.
It?s about time we do our part. The boxers, trainers and managers have done theirs for too long.
?The ball is now in our court.? Whatever we do with it will dictate the future of Philippine boxing.
If we don?t do our part, then we have no right to say or write those nasty comments. We have not earned it.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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