| Olympic Afterglow By Antonio C. Abaya Written Sept. 02, 2004 For Philippines Free Press, September 11 issue Of course, they tried their best. After all, they were promised a million pesos for every one who came home with an Olympic gold medal. That they didn�t is just too bad, but even the athletes themselves will understand if we are not �proud� of them, as we are being asked to be by President Arroyo and Celso Dayrit, head of the empty-handed Philippine Olympic delegation. We tend to devalue words by robbing them of any meaningful, well, meaning. Like calling Angelo de la Cruz a �hero,� just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got kidnapped for it. Or asking us to be �proud� of athletes who did not win anything. Is it because we are so bereft of any real live heroes, or because we have such an aching need to win at something we will settle for anything, such as mere participating? After winning, the next best thing is losing. We are being asked to be proud of that? Are we really a nation of losers? We should pay more attention to some of the real winners in the just concluded Athens Olympics. As expected, the US � which turned Filipinos into real winners in sports between 1913 and 1936 (see my article of Aug. 18 �What Happened to Us?�) � won the most medals in Athens: a total of 103, of which 35 were gold, 39 silver and 29 bronze. China, which was the perennial loser in the triangular Far Eastern Games with Japan and the Philippines before World War II, won 63 medals (32-17-14). Japan, our strongest rival in sports during that period, won 37 medals (16-9-12). South Korea, which did not even take part in the Far Eastern Games, being a mere Japanese colony then, won 30 medals (9-12-9). Thailand, another non-participant in the pre-war Far East Games, won 8 medals (3-1-4). Taiwan, which was also a Japanese colony during our American period, won 5 medals (2-2-1); Indonesia, Dutch East Indies before the war, won 4 medals (1-1-2), while Hong Kong won one solitary medal, a silver in table-tennis. At least, the Philippines was not the only prominent Southeast Asian country to be shut out of the medal board. The �can-do� Malaysians showed that they cannot do Olympic sports any better than us �can�t-do� Pinoys. And the nannified, filthy rich Singaporeans, who have recently won back their right to chew gum (but only with a doctor�s prescription), have apparently not been told by their nanny that they can run, jump, throw or swim and chew gum at the same time. And what�s with the pathetic Indians? With a population of more than one billion, all they got in Athens was one solitary silver medal, in shooting. In many previous Olympics, India and Pakistan (also zero medal in Athens) battled it out for top honors in field hockey, which gave one or the other a gold or a silver. In Athens, they were not even competing for the bronze in what was for long their specialty sport. Some have called India a sleeping giant in sports and other fields. But someone should take a good look. Is India just sleeping, or is it already comatose? And India cannot blame it on the heat, even if in summer the mercury rises to 47 degrees C in the central plain near New Delhi. India is such a big country geographically that parts of it actually have temperate zone climate, where it could conceivably train its athletes. What seems to be lacking in India is the will to win in sports, the same malaise that afflicts the post-American Philippines. The same cannot be said of post-capitalist Cuba, which lies on the same latitude as central India. Ever since Fidel Castro�s communists came to power in 1959, Cuba has modeled itself on the socialist states of Eastern Europe which produced athletes of prodigious power and unequalled skills as epitomes of The New Socialist Man. In previous Olympics since 1972, Cuba won 27 gold medals in boxing alone. Even with the collapse of Marxist Socialism, economically poor Cuba has continued its program of turning out super athletes. In Athens, Cuba won 27 medals (9-7-11), of which seven were in boxing (five golds, two silvers). Other sports where Cuban athletes won medals in were baseball, wrestling, women�s field events, canoeing, taekwondo, men�s track, men�s judo, women�s judo, shooting, and women�s volleyball. Except volleyball, these are sports where Filipinos can also excel in if they had a mind to and if their national leaders had any interest in developing excellence in. Other countries even poorer than Cuba or the Philippines have become Olympic powerhouses by concentrating on one sport and doing consistently well in it. Kenya (pop 39m) won seven medals (1-4-2) and Ethiopia (pop 71m) won another seven (2-3-2), all in long distance running. What was the Philippines trying to prove by fielding a 4ft-11in dwarf in the Marathon? On a medal-per-capita basis, the Athens Olympics were won by the resort island of Bahamas (pop 314,000), which won two medals (1-0-1). But the real winners were Australia (pop 18m) which won an astounding 49 medals (17-16-16) and Cuba (pop 11.3m) with 27 (9-7-11), followed by Hungary (pop 9.8m) with 17 medals (8-6-3) and Norway (pop 4.5m) with six (5-0-1). I am usually an avid TV watcher during the Olympics because I especially enjoy watching track events, gymnastics and volleyball. But not this time. I was turned off by a government ad that showed a fat woman in pink mumbling some incomprehensible gibberish that ended with an ecstatic �Niyakap ako ni GMA,� as rhapsodic music swelled in the background. I can understand the need for propaganda, but a poorly done one, repeated over and over literally ad nauseam, especially during Olympic telecasts where excellence is being celebrated, was just too much. GMA should fire her entire propaganda staff for being such rank amateurs who, in trying to sell her, have merely made her an object of scorn.. ***** NEW AT THE TAPATT WEBSITE www.tapatt.org in the Reference Material section: �Will the Philippines Prove Malthus Right?� by business consultant Peter Wallace, on the population issue. Under the heading �On Population.� �No Pie from the Sky�, an essay on Norway by Rosalinda N. Olsen, a Filipina married to a Norwegian and resident in Norway. Under the heading �On Scandinavia.� �Dismantling the Da Vinci Code� by Sandra Miesel, and �The Da Vinci Fallacy� an interview with Amy Welborn. Both articles critique Dan Brown�s bestselling novel, and both are written by American Catholic writers; forwarded to Tapatt by Oliver Tuazon. Under the heading �On the Da Vinci Code.� ***** The bulk of this article appears in the September 11, 2004 issue of the Philippines Free Press magazine. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Olympic Afterglow� Hello Mr. Abaya We seem to be fostering a culture of losing. Just look at the way we celebrate the Fall of Bataan, a military defeat no matter how valiantly fought. Should we not celebrate it the way Isreali's celebrate the Fall of Masada? With a solemn ceremony by our citizens with a vow that Bataan shall never fall again. Its about time we foster a culture of winning and not self pity. Lino Ongteco, [email protected] September 05, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww . Who is fooling who, here? From whence does the propaganda ( read: false info, story-telling lies, disseminated for the purpose of creating an illusion, as distinguished from advertising.) about "da pinoy wowness" emanate? Was it "Dick the Gordon"really? If it was, who perpetuated it? Was it "da pinoy media arroz de la lopez"? If so, WHO ENCOURAGED IT BY INSISTING ON IT?" Should the Pilipino be actually proud because their own president GMA has demonstrated to encourage (even thru a scripted "kiss sabay hug") how to manifest this "Wow, ha, talagang prawd ako sa iyo, Pinay, frawd-na-frawd!" ???? Or, should the Pilipinos, feel Insulted and adamant and demand: "Tama na, ang PAKITANG TAO." (suka, sabay-hug...pa din??) Or, remain to be just da-saymo-saymo "okey lang, malayo sa buto-buto, yan." - Go, go, GMA, but ya can't full (sic) us another way. Pepeton, [email protected] September 06, 2004 ===================== Subj: Fwd: Olympic Afterglow Date: 9/5/04 8:26:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time From: Pusong Pinoye2 To: ArcherGIntl ----------------- Forwarded Message: Subj: Olympic Afterglow Date: 9/5/04 6:44:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time From: [email protected] (Antonio C. Abaya) To: "Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@mnl.zpdee.net Olympic Afterglow By Antonio C. Abaya Written Sept. 02, 2004 For Philippines Free Press, September 11 issue Of course, they tried their best. After all, they were promised a million pesos for every one who came home with an Olympic gold medal. That they didn�t is just too bad, but even the athletes themselves will understand if we are not �proud� of them, as we are being asked to be by President Arroyo and Conrado Dayrit, head of the empty-handed Philippine Olympic delegation. Pepeton agrees: Of course. Knowing the odds of a Pinoy coming back with a medal, much less, a "gold"... this offer was a ruse, cuz it had no fuse. Por nada. -----------------o0o--------------------------- We tend to devalue words by robbing them of any meaningful, well, meaning. Like calling Angelo de la Cruz a �hero,� just because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got kidnapped for it. Or asking us to be �proud� of athletes who did not win anything. Pepeton exclaims: "Ouuuuchhhh. Gosh, Tony, must you be this "broootalwidurpaks"??? Deng, this hurted2guuud!!! Tony, please, DON'T...STOP....NOW!!! WOW! "Toking op dobolspik and upimism," those who prefer to be politically correct at the risk of obfuscating the facts...I can hear dem shouting...agen. ----------------------------o0o-------------- Is it because we are so bereft of any real live heroes, or because we have such an aching need to win at something we will settle for anything, such as mere participating? After winning, the next best thing is losing. We are being asked to be proud of that? Are we really a nation of losers? Pepeton retreats: Ok. Ok. Tony. Gib up na. Admitted and granted - "...a nation of losers caused by a nation of *denayers* (i.e., "Not my fault, I only denied that I told a lie." Gawrrsh, Tony, gib me a little slack...ang lupit mo naman, Bosing. Can we settle for "KSP"? Kainan sa Pasig? No. KSP...lesseee... something about "eng-eng sa Pasig"? Hindi naman siguro. Okey ba sa iyo...in stead of a "nation of losers"...jest a "nation of KSP, i.e., Kulang sa Pansin? (or Kulang sa Puri)? Because stats show, di naman "kulang sa pek�," dibs? Female nga ang "head" of state dibs? ----------------------------o0o-------------------------- We should pay more attention to some of the real winners in the just concluded Athens Olympics. As expected, the US � which turned Filipinos into real winners in sports between 1913 and 1936 (see my article of Aug. 18 �What Happened to Us?�) � won the most medals in Athens: a total of 103, of which 35 were gold, 39 silver and 29 bronze. China, which was the perennial loser in the triangular Far Eastern Games with Japan and the Philippines before World War II, won 63 medals (32-17-14). Japan, our strongest rival in sports during that period, won 37 medals (16-9-12). South Korea, which did not even take part in the Far Eastern Games, being a mere Japanese colony then, won 30 medals (9-12-9). Thailand, another non-participant in the pre-war Far East Games, won 8 medals (3-1-4). Taiwan, which was also a Japanese colony during our American period, won 5 medals (2-2-1); Indonesia, Dutch East Indies before the war, won 4 medals (1-1-2), while Hong Kong won one solitary medal, a silver in table-tennis. At least, the Philippines was not the only prominent Southeast Asian country to be shut out of the medal board. The �can-do� Malaysians showed that they cannot do Olympic sports any better than us �can�t-do� Pinoys. And the nannified, filthy rich Singaporeans, who have recently won back their right to chew gum (but only with a doctor�s prescription), have apparently not been told by their nanny that they can run, jump, throw or swim and chew gum at the same time. And what�s with the pathetic Indians? With a population of more than one billion, all they got in Athens was one solitary silver medal, in shooting. In many previous Olympics, India and Pakistan (also zero medal in Athens) battled it out for top honors in field hockey, which gave one or the other a gold or a silver. In Athens, they were not even competing for the bronze in what was for long their specialty sport. Some have called India a sleeping giant in sports and other fields. But someone should take a good look. Is India just sleeping, or is it already comatose? And India cannot blame it on the heat, even if in summer the mercury rises to 47 degrees C in the central plain near New Delhi. India is such a big country geographically that parts of it actually have temperate zone climate, where it could conceivably train its athletes. What seems to be lacking in India is the will to win in sports, the same malaise that afflicts the post-American Philippines. The same cannot be said of post-capitalist Cuba, which lies on the same latitude as central India. Ever since Fidel Castro�s communists came to power in 1959, Cuba has modeled itself on the socialist states of Eastern Europe which produced athletes of prodigious power and unequalled skills as epitomes of The New Socialist Man. In previous Olympics since 1972, Cuba won 27 gold medals in boxing alone. Even with the collapse of Marxist Socialism, economically poor Cuba has continued its program of turning out super athletes. In Athens, Cuba won 27 medals (9-7-11), of which seven were in boxing (five golds, two silvers). Other sports where Cuban athletes won medals in were baseball, wrestling, women�s field events, canoeing, taekwondo, men�s track, men�s judo, women�s judo, shooting, and women�s volleyball. Except volleyball, these are sports where Filipinos can also excel in if they had a mind to and if their national leaders had any interest in developing excellence in. Other countries even poorer than Cuba or the Philippines have become Olympic powerhouses by concentrating on one sport and doing consistently well in it. Kenya (pop 39m) won seven medals (1-4-2) and Ethiopia (pop 71m) won another seven (2-3-2), all in long distance running. What was the Philippines trying to prove by fielding a 4ft-11in dwarf in the Marathon? Pepeton Disclaims....Wait up, Tony. History might be on the opposite side of what you are stressing here. Let's look at a few examples on the "superiority of lack of height". Besides, didn't we have Anthony Villanueva win a "silver" medal in boxing, back when? Look at these 'small but wonderful' winners in athletic competitions: 1. Tegla Loroupe, 4' 11", won the New York Marathon two years in a row. She was the first black African woman to win a major marathon. 2. Josia Thugwan, 5' 2", .Won the 1996 Olympic marathon in Atlanta, Georgia 3. Olga Korbut, only 4' 11", from the then USSR became an overnight sensation during the 1972 Olympics by winning 3 gold medals. She was chosen to do gymnastics because of her small size. 3. Cathy Rigby, 4' 11", was the first American woman to win a medal in the World Gymnastics competition in 1970. Performing at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the 1972 Games in Munich, she captured the hearts of millions and popularized the sport of gymnastics in the United States. Cathy has earned 12 international medals, eight of them gold, and was named one of America's Most Influential Women in Sports by ABC-TV's Wide World of Sports. 3. Willie Shoemaker, 4' 11", is the most successful jockey in history. By the time he retired in 1990 he had won 8,833 races, including four Kentucky Derbies, five Belmont Stakes, and three Preakness Stakes. He was the first jockey to win over $100 million. In 1986, at age 54, he became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. 4.Naim Suleymanoglu , 4' 11" Olympic weightlifting champion. Called the Pocket Hercules. 5. Shannon Miller, 4' 11.5" - The most decorated U.S. gymnast. 6. Maribel Atienzar . 5.0" Maribel Atienzar was a renowned Mexican Matador in the early 1980's. 7. Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues , 5' 3" - the shortest player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). BTW, there was a research study published in the Journal of (Applied) Psychology last Spring, dispelling the myth that shortness in height is a prohibitive advantage. Researchers at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina found that tall people tend to earn more money and win more respect at work. They found a height advantage even in jobs where being tall isn't a qualification � in other words, they didn't just look at pro basketball players. The study followed thousands of people in the U.S. and Britain from childhood through their adult earning years, accounting for both subjective evaluation and objective worker performance. However, the researchers didn't find any obvious bias against shorter people. They say we may have been wired to think in favor of tall people thousands of years ago, when those people would have been looked to for protection. By the way, Napoleon really wasn't as short as "common wisdom" says. After his death in 1821, he was measured at 5-foot-2, but that was in French feet. In English feet, that converts to 5 feet 6� inches, actually taller than the average Frenchman in 1800. As Napoleon himself said, "History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon." Yung isang dating "loyalistang alalay ni presidente na tumakbo for re-election as congressman pero natalo", unsolicitedly, stressed in defense - "Pare, wala sa laki, or sa liit yan. As we say, it's not the size of your pen...but your penmanship, that matters." But our chat was going from trivias about the president and the first gentleman, and I honestly do not recall anymore who he meant to defend by it. As for PGMA, yes, indeed she is 4" 11' - a favored height for gymnastics, kasi madali MAGPAIKOT-IKOT. Sa PANGANGABAYO...mahusay lalo. Nakapatong na sa kabayo, hindi pa nararamdaman ang bigat. But your observation as to why the Philippines sent a 4' 11" to a the Olympic marathon event is well-noted. Come to think of it...why doesn't the Philippine Olympic start recruiting and training the "smaller and shorter athletes" specially for sports that have an obvious advantage and favor for their size - GYMNASTICS, EQUESTRIAN...you know, stuff like that? I suggested this back in 1996 during the Atlanta-held Olympics, to our Philippine delegation. The response I got was: "Maliit na nga ang Pinoy, gusto mo pang stress and emphasize ang pagkaliit natin?" I never knew what to make of that remark from the Official of the Philippine Olympics Committee. (to the glee of the officials of the Philippine Sports Commission). WOW, talaga Pinoy, hindi papatalo sa pagtatalo. -----------------------o0o------------------ On a medal-per-capita basis, the Athens Olympics were won by the resort island of Bahamas (pop 314,000), which won two medals (1-0-1). But the real winners were Australia (pop 18m) which won an astounding 49 medals (17-16-16) and Cuba (pop 11.3m) with 27 (9-7-11), followed by Hungary (pop 9.8m) with 17 medals (8-6-3) and Norway (pop 4.5m) with six (5-0-1). I am usually an avid TV watcher during the Olympics because I especially enjoy watching track events, gymnastics and volleyball. But not this time. I was turned off by a government ad that showed a fat woman in pink mumbling some incomprehensible gibberish that ended with an ecstatic �Niyakap ako ni GMA,� while rhapsodic music swelled in the background. Pepeton commiserates: I have never witnessed the "thrill of victory" of the Pinoy in Olympic competition; and have been numbed by the "agony of defeat" due to the countless futile attempts of our humbled olympians. But to add insult to injury..."kiss sabay hug"???? (dapat kiss sabay suka....) yechhh. Nakakinsulto talaga. Harap-harapan kung mangago. ------------------------------o0o---------------------- I can understand the need for propaganda, but a poorly done one, repeated over and over literally ad nauseam, especially during Olympic telecasts where excellence is being celebrated, was just too much. Pepeton agrees and recommends: Exactly, Tony. Precisamente y sin duda, conyo. Talagang nakakasuka ang mana bruha, hijo de las gran chingadas. Pero, oye...who is at fault here, aside from the "actors" and their "scriptwriters"? What about the TV network, that encourages and promotes this feigning and fawning about the WOWness of the PINOYS not only in Olympic competition but in practically every aspect of life and human endeavour, amidst global competition for WOWness. ---------------------o0o--------------------- GMA should fire her entire propaganda staff for being such rank amateurs who, in trying to sell her, have merely made her an object of scorn. Pepeton applies reality check: Again, I wholeheartedly agree, Tony. But supposing, just supposing, after having done all that - a-la-Donald Trump style - YOU'RE FIRED....you then find out...si ano, si Ms., Madam, Kagalang-Galang na Puno ng Bayan...er, bilib pala talaga sa pakana ni Dick about WOW Pinoy. What to do then? Joder, estamos jodido, korectamundo. BTW, I checked and learned that Napoleon Bonaparte was not really a short man. In French, his height was recorded as 5' 2", approximately. And this translates into English as 5' 6.5", which is actually taller than the average height for Frenchmen (and Pinoys, for that matter). He only looks a lot shorter, because of his portraits that show the Royal Guards standing behind him. And the Royal Guards have a much taller height requirement (plus their hats, help to exagerrate their heights). As for GMA, yes, confirmed. She is 4' 11" TALL. Her physical "tallness"is overshadowed only by her taller ambitions (even if, enigmatic and illusory). OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
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