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Is Pacquiao the most beloved boxer since Ali?
Why is the Philippines so captivated by Manny Pacquiao?
August 21, 12:32 PM
Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner
by Dennis "dSource" Guillermo
Is Pacquiao the most beloved boxer since Ali?
Outsiders think it's absurd- somewhat borderline idolatry. Others even ridicule Manny Pacquiao fans for their undying loyalty. Perhaps Floyd Mayweather Jr. is wondering how Pacquiao sold out his tickets for his fight in November without hardly saying a word when he is practically "whoring" himself out just to dispose some of the remaining tickets to his comeback bout in next month. If he thought he was like the great Mike coming back wearing number 45, the difference would be it seems that the fans had forgotten about him. And then there's those who belittle Pacquiao's supporters saying they know nothing about boxing. I can't say I completely disagree, but such is the result of not knowing. So why is it that an entire nation of people stops when one man works his fists?
Allow me to please write this piece to help put your confusions at ease.
For basketball fans, you can call it LeBron, Kobe or Chauncey during the NBA Playoffs because just as the slogan sang by Kanye West, there's truly only one way to describe the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon. "It's amazing!"
Why and how does Pacquiao elicit such a loyal following and passionate allegiance from his fans, especially his countrymen? Let me try to break it down from a Filipino-American's point of view.
You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks; just like how faith to an atheist does not exist. It’s hard to change the views of a hater- the types that love to call people nut huggers. Fair weathered people will come and go as often as world championship belts get passed along. But even though the odds may be against me, it can’t be anywhere near the odds of a black man winning the presidency. And just like a Bulls fan in Chicago in the 90’s, all I can say is I wish you knew how it feels to be cheering for a dynasty.
As a Filipino, the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon is nothing I have ever experienced in my whole 28 years of existence. I am just happy I was born in an era to witness it. As a sports fan, nothing compares to the past 8 years since Manny broke in to the American Boxing scene by beating Ledwaba in 2001. If Stallone’s Rocky was a true story, maybe that would be comparable, then again, Philadelphia built a monument over his fictional character and people think Pacquiao fans are nuts?
So what does Manny Pacquiao really mean to the Philippines?
Us Filipinos, we had our revolution and liberation a century ago. Our national heroes such as Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio liberated us from 400 years of Spanish colonization. Probably explains why we look like high Mexicans to the outside world. For so many years, our battles were amongst ourselves. We imploded and turned into a country filled with violence, corruption and a country filled with citizens looking for a way out. We lost our sense of nationalism. For a while being Filipino felt like a disability to some. I knew Filipinos that moved to America who used to lie about where they were really from and their bloodlines just to cover their shame. Like this dude named Will I met in Cali who said he was born in Hawaii only to find out a few weeks after when I talked to his mom that he was born in Tanay. (Tanay is a city Manila, Philippines) It’s a shame, but it’s the truth.
Manny Pacquiao is our civil war. Manny Pacquiao is our answer to our great depression and greater depressions. He may not be commanding an army or facing an uphill battle against Japanese soldiers, but for all he represents and the battles he has won on top of the ring for the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao has singlehandedly restored nationalistic pride to a country that seemed to have lost it over the past decades after all the disasters and political turmoil.
He has greatly helped put the Philippines back on the global map and the attention he brings to the country has helped the economy as well through tourism and exposure for the country. Most importantly, you can see in the glitter in the eyes of the impoverished population left behind back home every time they are reminded of Manny. Manny not only gives joy and stops crime in the few hours he has a fight back in the Philippines, but he also inspires hope to every citizen that despite all of the negativity that surrounds them, anything is possible as long as you work hard for it.
Manny personifies the struggles of each one of us. Just like his career where he started from the bottom with every person on top trying to exploit him, push him down and tell him he’s either too small, uneducated or plainly not good enough to make it in the world, he kept fighting and the success he has achieved is the same happy ending all of the struggling Filipinos are chasing.
And he’s done it without forgetting where he came from. You hear a lot of stories about a lot of people everywhere after blowing up and making it in the big time all of a sudden change colors as if they can never see where they came from. If you watch HBO’s Entourage, it’s pretty similar how Manny has kept his crew the way Vinny Chase rolls with his boys. The only difference is that Manny’s crew is 100 million deep. The entourage you see that surrounds him is but a mere macrocosm of all the loyal Filipinos out there that would do anything for the man that has done everything for them.
To me personally, I know I’ll be eating lechon, kare-kare, barbeque and drink some San Miguels again before the year ends. To most, they’ll see long lost relatives and friends again in a get together and even high five other Filipinos they usually wouldn’t even say hi to because they will be in the same party. Because of Manny Pacquiao there will be days in Manila that there will be no traffic (when he fights). Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But let’s call it a few hours in a day at least. Pacquiao the symbol of what has been lacking in sports for awhile. You’d have to go as far back as Muhammad Ali to find a boxer that has created as much impact to a nation and a society the way Manny has. And I haven’t even begun to enumerate all the community work and service Manny has done for the country. I am merely pointing out the inspiration he has given to the nation.
I can really go on forever with this, but in case you’re an outsider looking in, all you got to do is ask any Filipino. It’s really irrelevant what they have to say. You can call em whatever you want, from a Pacnut, a hugger or whatever. Truth is really, all you got to look for is the glitter in their eyes. It’s that same hope and sense of accomplishment you’d get from African Americans when they speak of President Barrack *****. Is there anything more you can really ask from an athlete?
August 21, 12:32 PM
Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner
by Dennis "dSource" Guillermo
Is Pacquiao the most beloved boxer since Ali?
Outsiders think it's absurd- somewhat borderline idolatry. Others even ridicule Manny Pacquiao fans for their undying loyalty. Perhaps Floyd Mayweather Jr. is wondering how Pacquiao sold out his tickets for his fight in November without hardly saying a word when he is practically "whoring" himself out just to dispose some of the remaining tickets to his comeback bout in next month. If he thought he was like the great Mike coming back wearing number 45, the difference would be it seems that the fans had forgotten about him. And then there's those who belittle Pacquiao's supporters saying they know nothing about boxing. I can't say I completely disagree, but such is the result of not knowing. So why is it that an entire nation of people stops when one man works his fists?
Allow me to please write this piece to help put your confusions at ease.
For basketball fans, you can call it LeBron, Kobe or Chauncey during the NBA Playoffs because just as the slogan sang by Kanye West, there's truly only one way to describe the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon. "It's amazing!"
Why and how does Pacquiao elicit such a loyal following and passionate allegiance from his fans, especially his countrymen? Let me try to break it down from a Filipino-American's point of view.
You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks; just like how faith to an atheist does not exist. It’s hard to change the views of a hater- the types that love to call people nut huggers. Fair weathered people will come and go as often as world championship belts get passed along. But even though the odds may be against me, it can’t be anywhere near the odds of a black man winning the presidency. And just like a Bulls fan in Chicago in the 90’s, all I can say is I wish you knew how it feels to be cheering for a dynasty.
As a Filipino, the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon is nothing I have ever experienced in my whole 28 years of existence. I am just happy I was born in an era to witness it. As a sports fan, nothing compares to the past 8 years since Manny broke in to the American Boxing scene by beating Ledwaba in 2001. If Stallone’s Rocky was a true story, maybe that would be comparable, then again, Philadelphia built a monument over his fictional character and people think Pacquiao fans are nuts?
So what does Manny Pacquiao really mean to the Philippines?
Us Filipinos, we had our revolution and liberation a century ago. Our national heroes such as Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio liberated us from 400 years of Spanish colonization. Probably explains why we look like high Mexicans to the outside world. For so many years, our battles were amongst ourselves. We imploded and turned into a country filled with violence, corruption and a country filled with citizens looking for a way out. We lost our sense of nationalism. For a while being Filipino felt like a disability to some. I knew Filipinos that moved to America who used to lie about where they were really from and their bloodlines just to cover their shame. Like this dude named Will I met in Cali who said he was born in Hawaii only to find out a few weeks after when I talked to his mom that he was born in Tanay. (Tanay is a city Manila, Philippines) It’s a shame, but it’s the truth.
Manny Pacquiao is our civil war. Manny Pacquiao is our answer to our great depression and greater depressions. He may not be commanding an army or facing an uphill battle against Japanese soldiers, but for all he represents and the battles he has won on top of the ring for the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao has singlehandedly restored nationalistic pride to a country that seemed to have lost it over the past decades after all the disasters and political turmoil.
He has greatly helped put the Philippines back on the global map and the attention he brings to the country has helped the economy as well through tourism and exposure for the country. Most importantly, you can see in the glitter in the eyes of the impoverished population left behind back home every time they are reminded of Manny. Manny not only gives joy and stops crime in the few hours he has a fight back in the Philippines, but he also inspires hope to every citizen that despite all of the negativity that surrounds them, anything is possible as long as you work hard for it.
Manny personifies the struggles of each one of us. Just like his career where he started from the bottom with every person on top trying to exploit him, push him down and tell him he’s either too small, uneducated or plainly not good enough to make it in the world, he kept fighting and the success he has achieved is the same happy ending all of the struggling Filipinos are chasing.
And he’s done it without forgetting where he came from. You hear a lot of stories about a lot of people everywhere after blowing up and making it in the big time all of a sudden change colors as if they can never see where they came from. If you watch HBO’s Entourage, it’s pretty similar how Manny has kept his crew the way Vinny Chase rolls with his boys. The only difference is that Manny’s crew is 100 million deep. The entourage you see that surrounds him is but a mere macrocosm of all the loyal Filipinos out there that would do anything for the man that has done everything for them.
To me personally, I know I’ll be eating lechon, kare-kare, barbeque and drink some San Miguels again before the year ends. To most, they’ll see long lost relatives and friends again in a get together and even high five other Filipinos they usually wouldn’t even say hi to because they will be in the same party. Because of Manny Pacquiao there will be days in Manila that there will be no traffic (when he fights). Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But let’s call it a few hours in a day at least. Pacquiao the symbol of what has been lacking in sports for awhile. You’d have to go as far back as Muhammad Ali to find a boxer that has created as much impact to a nation and a society the way Manny has. And I haven’t even begun to enumerate all the community work and service Manny has done for the country. I am merely pointing out the inspiration he has given to the nation.
I can really go on forever with this, but in case you’re an outsider looking in, all you got to do is ask any Filipino. It’s really irrelevant what they have to say. You can call em whatever you want, from a Pacnut, a hugger or whatever. Truth is really, all you got to look for is the glitter in their eyes. It’s that same hope and sense of accomplishment you’d get from African Americans when they speak of President Barrack *****. Is there anything more you can really ask from an athlete?
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