BOB Arum, that beloved (or most hated) promoter of Manny Pacquiao, said one of the reasons Andre Berto, that promising undefeated welterweight , didn’t get a fight with Manny was he won’t pique the interest of the casual fan.
You see for Arum the casual fan is the game changer, he or she, brings in the millions.
Serious boxing fans are after the matchups, casual fans follow their favorite fighters.
And if you use that formula for Philippine football, we’d hit the milestone in the AFF Suzuki Cup.
I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been asked in the past few weeks if the Azkals (always by name) have another game coming up.
One reporter saw a couple at an Adidas store looking at a jacket with the RP team’s colors and said, “Oy, Azkal.”
In social networking sites, queries for tickets to the Feb. 9 game in Bacolod are at a fever pitch that the Philippine Football Federation had to send an e-mail telling everybody that nothing has been finalized yet.
(By the way, for ticket queries, reservations send an e-mail with your 1.) full name, 2.) e-mail ad, 3.) contact numbers and 4.) number of tickets to Maja Paula T. Año [m_unknew@yahoo.com])
Fan interest in English Premier League’s Fulham FC has also increased and that’s because Neil Etheridge is now their No. 2 keeper.
All of these make Nonong Araneta’s job heaven and hell.
The interest for the sport makes getting backers for his programs easy, but it will also put him under the microscope.
Plus the fact that he has to unravel three years of the reign of he-who-must-not-be-named.
Araneta, for sure, will get a lot of unsolicited advice but for now, I only care about two moves that the new PFF admin will make:
1.) revival of the national tournaments.
2.) bringing the Azkals to the fans.
The first one is for the hardcore football fans and players who want to get the chance to take the measure of the best players in the country, while the second one, are those whose “playing” days are best remembered over a few rounds of drinks.
Back in 2008, the Azkals played the Cebu All-Stars to a sparse crowd at the University of San Carlos field. If they have another friendly at the Aboitiz Sports Field, I think the organizers would probably need the whole North Reclamation Area as a parking lot.
I hope the PFF will consider an Azkal tour this summer, with games against local sides in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu and Mindanao.
Cebu is an obvious choice for me but I think fans in Iloilo, especially Barotac, deserve to see the PHL team in action against their local side.
Barotac is a picture of what the country could be, if the Philippines becomes football-manic, and it has also provided most of the national players.
And of course, should that game push through, “Adto gid ko ya.”
Sun Star Cebu
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they played here(barotac) two years ago, during the afc challenge cup where they won 4-0. they were mobbed by fans after the game and it was the fitrst time they felt superstar status in the country. sadly, they were eliminated by the tajiks through tiebreak. our kasimanwas would love to see them back and play our side.
ReplyDeleteIloilo and Cebu???
ReplyDeleteThese places makes the country a happy place to live.
Humble and friendly people what makes my world go round, tumble down but its fun.
Well, now is the time to stir the people's interest in football thats for sure. The UFL should be the focus as a lot of the Azkals are playing there and since no internationals until Feb, it should get a lot more time on TV. They are now running shows but only 1 hr features which I dont think will make much of a dent. They have to show the entire game. When that game vs. Mongolia is aired they better get better commentators who know what they are talking about. They should stop sticking to sports analysts like Ronnie Nathanielzs to do the commentating. I dont take much of his comments on other sports seriously (even his so called expertise in boxing) and so you know what I think about his comments on football..I dont know, he is just not credible because he sounds like a conman and his closeness to the Marcoses during their hay day ..it behooves me why his opinion is publicized in the Azkal ressurgence
ReplyDeleteAlso, lets just clarify the comment on Etheridge. He is not the 2 at fullham. David Stockdale is. Etheridge has never played a senior game for the Cottagers and remains at the fringes with Fullham now showing interest at the Mexican No.2 keeper Ochoa who is in London for try outs. At this point I dont think he can even be considered a solid No.3 but I understand what your saying. Interest is now at a high level and you have to feed the demand. Whatever success Etheridge will have in Fullham will also be good for RP football. I think he is as much a hero to Philippine football as any other member of the Azkals and we couldnt have made it without him.
fulham sucks. their run to the europa cup last year was an effing fluke.
ReplyDeleteAs a foreigner married to a Filipina it warms my heart to see that the Philippines finally seems to be falling in love with 'the beautiful game'. God Bless Dan Stephen Palami for his dedication and commitment (not to mention shedloads of personal cash)in trying to transform the Azlaks from a bunch of no-hopers to a team worthy of performing on any international stage.
ReplyDeleteIt CAN be done because most Filipino youths
(even the most pobre)have the natural agility
and ability to take to soccer like a duck takes to water. But there are huge challenges.
No.1 is the inescapable fact that no sport can
grow in popularity without TV exposure. All Phils channels are so commercial-obsessed that
an uninterrupted 45 min is beyond imagining.
A soccer game is a non-stop flow of action.
Stopping it every few minutes for 'a word from
our sponsor' would turn it into a fiasco and be a complete turn-off for any non-aficionado
wishing to get interested in the sport.
No.2 is the lack of space and lighting (essential in any tropical region where it
gets dark soon after school closes).
This is not insurmountable because FIFA, Germany, Kuwait, Qatar etc. are now starting
to pump billions of pisos into soccer development here.
No.3 is the eternal Filipino dream that national and local government officials will be honest and decent enough to keep their dirty paws away from the public purse and allow every centavo to be used to help the
health and hopes of their country's youth.
There are loads more, but if everyone who cares gets behind D G Palami and his co-workers the day will soon come when the Philippine flag will be flying high and proud
in some of the most famous football stadiums in the world.
Cheers to all of you (and Azkalians please cheer on my Surigao-born son).
P.S. Humble apologies for mis-spelling 'Azkal' above. It's a tricky word for Europeans.
ReplyDeleteAnd please never feel irritated by the word 'soccer'. The most popular TV sports program in
the country that invented football is called 'Soccer Special'.