04 September 2014

Villaflor: Metro Manila’s half-hearted football scene

By Noel S. Villaflor

AS a Filipino sports fan, I am used to disappointment. The most recent one, however, had nothing to do with score lines.



I am talking about the sparse crowd at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium during the Azkals vs. Chinese Taipei Peace Cup match last Wednesday night. Except for the few clusters of fans cheering their team on—kudos to these guys for getting their priorities straight—the stadium was achingly empty. Worse, the weather was so bad that the match had to be stopped for an hour.
Some point to the Gilas Pilipinas vs. Puerto Rico basketball match that was aired almost simultaneously as a reason for the dismal football attendance. There might be truth to this. But with a population of 12 million plus, Manila is half a megalopolis, so it still boggles the mind how the Rizal stadium with a capacity of only 12,000 can’t be filled to the rafters. Are our football stakeholders saying that Metro Manila can’t muster that many hardcore football fans who won’t think twice about supporting the national football team when faced with tough choices?
Perhaps it can’t. And that’s a shame because the Philippines has been playing well of late—last Wednesday’s 5-1 trouncing of Chinese Taipei is a mere preview of games worth seeing live in the stadium. But the reality is most Metro Manilans have other priorities. Having said that, I’m compelled to ask: would football hotbed Bacolod, for example, have responded more positively, the way it did as hosts of the 2013 Peace Cup at the Panaad Stadium?
It doesn’t help that the 2014 Peace Cup has been nothing short of disorganized. For one, it was announced that the participating teams—the Azkals, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar and Palestine—would play in a single round robin format, only to be changed at the last minute. The Philippine Football Federation, on its website, cited Fifa’s “new regulations on ‘two-match(es) per international window’” as reason for the change of schedule, effectively canceling one match. That means no more Azkals vs. Palestine for you. Too bad for those who’ve booked tickets for this mini-tourney.
On a brighter note, the Azkals have advanced to the final against Myanmar, which trounced Palestine, 4-1. So expect a spirited performance tomorrow from our Philippine footballers, as they play with whole heart and soul, whether under raging thunderstorm and lightning, despite dismal tournament organizing.
For that alone, our boys deserve a capacity crowd.
nsvillaflor@gmail.com
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 05, 2014.

14 comments:

  1. Kasi basketball ang gusto ng pinoy. Kaya magpakamatay na lang kayo!

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    1. Sa maynila kasi ang venue maraming basketball hooligans kagaya ni anon 00:18 dito nyo ilagay ang laro sa Bacolod pati taga Iloilo mag roro makapanood lang

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    2. Tama dito sa Iloilo isang barangay kaming nakatutok sa TV

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    3. Tama. Nasa manila kasi. Dito last year sa bacolod, maraming nanood. The.stadium was full and the crowd was wild. :-)

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    4. basketball talunan! no.1 sport sa pilipinas di manalo-nalo sa mga taga ibang bansa na walang pakealam sa basketball at football ang no.1 sport.

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    5. hindi lahat ng pinoy gusto maglaro ng basketball mga fans lng. Wla na kasi laro ang basketball kaya dito na naman nag ingay ang mga haters pero ganun talaga ang buhay kasi may laro ang Azkals bukas kaya eto na naman sila.

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  2. football belongs to the Visayas region. had it been played here in Cebu, it would have been a sellout crowd...

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    1. Tama sa Maynila busy ang mga tao wla silang time sa sports busy sila sa pangingidnap sa pangongotong busy sila sa pangsalisi pag iniwan mo ang bahay at manood ng laro

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    2. Busy ang taga manila sa palalakad dahil sa sobrang traffic.

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  3. There are solutions to this. ok na yung mababang presyo ng tickets. Gawing covered bleachers sana para ok lang magdala ng mga bata sa bleachers area. Wag ipagbawal yung drums saka gianty flags, masyadong killjoy, saka kulang sa promotion eh.

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    1. Bwahaha covered bleachers? Hunghang. At pag lumindol madaganan si oldmole ng yero. Laos na kayo south east asia na lang hirap pa kayo.

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    2. salamat ha at dito ka nag comment pinalakas mo football namin hunghang!!! bakit kaya galit ka sa football? wla namang ginawa ang sport sayo? selos ka ba sa kakayahan ng FIFA kaysa FIBA? mas prestihiyoso ang FIFA World Cup kasi wel established sila at maraming pera hindi kaulad ng FIBA wlang team incentives at insurance ang mgea players at sa totoo lng nagbayad ng rights ang FIBA para gamitin ang pahinang "World Cup" dahil orihinal ng football ito sumunod lng ang ibang sports lalo na ang basketbol. Mag aral ka muna bago ka bumanat. Mga high IQ ang mga football fans....

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    3. Hindi yan nakapanood ng world cup sa Brazil kaya akala nya basketball court lang covered

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    4. kayo laos!! hindi nga mapuno puno yung arena nyo eh!!! kasi basketball walang pake mga tao jan!! pilipinas lang meron! di pinagkakaguluhan yang sport na yan ng ibang bansa kahit south east asia!

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