3:46 am | Sunday, August 19th, 2012
AS EXPECTED, our sports pages are teeming with postmortems of the failed Philippine London Olympics campaign and the state of sports in the country. Critiques and analyses are hot topics on the social networks. Sports associations are either vocal or mum about the whole hullabaloo.
Pitches for a more organized and feasible sports development framework are being made or retooled for reconsideration. Calls for leadership changes are all around although due process and proper election procedures might be more prudent to do to be fair to current leaders.
But before any new or refurbished program can be installed, should we review, alter or come to terms with many cultural values, quirks or shortcomings that impede our sports development? I do not claim to be a sociologist but have been around sports long enough to sense that there’s so much of who we are as Filipinos that gets in the way of our improving.
It’s just who we are when we do our sports. Here are a few:
Bata-bata. (Patronage) Many politicians support sports willingly but fall into the trap of becoming parent-like to athletes under their wing. When the athlete does not get a slot in the national squad or a ticket to an international meet, the politician uses clout to get the message across that his or her ward was wronged. What usually ensues, especially if the athlete is really good, is a messy public word war.
Napahiya sa harap ng marami (Shamed in public). Our Asian spirits are strong and losing face in public is never acceptable. If our sports efforts are criticized or nitpicked in the public domain, concerned parties fire back, especially if the criticisms are below the belt. A tad more open-mindedness maybe a better route to evaluate criticisms if they are valid or just self serving.
Tampo (Bad feelings). Many behind-the-scenes workers crave for public recognition of their contributions to an athlete’s development. Often, if this is not saluted in public, then ill feelings are bred and often result in defiance. Coaches and patrons whose hearts are in the right places know that their lives are already fulfilled when they get athletes to try their very best. They don’t need to be saluted every time.
Utang na loob (Gratitude) As any Filipino will tell you, this Pinoy value is both a positive and a negative. Positively, the value imposes we rightfully acknowledge the kindness of those who raised, taught or coached us. Conversely, it’s a negative when elders raise hell about young ones who depart from the family home too early or when one’s side is not taken in a family dispute. Wala kang utang na loob! (You have no gratitude) moan the hurting elders.
In sports, patrons often decry the lack of gratitude of athletes who genuinely feel that the time is right to cut athletic umbilical cords or get different coaching. Athletes often end up in a tug of war with their training and competitions being compromised.
A sports program measured by metrics and objectives is definitely needed today. However, before we change anything, we need leadership that will establish and nurture a sports culture that maximizes the best of who we are while managing the baggage that slows down our journey.
Tags: London Olympics , Philippine sports , Sports
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| POS | COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| 1 | United States | 46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| 2 | China | 38 | 27 | 23 | 88 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| 4 | Russia | 24 | 26 | 32 | 82 |
| 5 | South Korea | 13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| 7 | France | 11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| 8 | Italy | 8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 9 | Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | Australia | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
The Philippines last reached the final round swimming 80 years ago when Jikirum Adjaluddin and Teofilo Yldefonso ended up in the final six in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
The Philippines has not won a medal since Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco settled for silver in boxing via a controversial decision during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The Philippines has only won medals in three events since joining the Olympics in 1924.
Mary Antoinette Rivero's tie for fifth place in Taekwondo is the closest any Filipino athlete came to a medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
John Baylon, a nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and Jerry Diño were the last Filipino Olympic qualifiers in the discipline Judo, having vied in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
1972 was the last year the Philippine men's basketball team, which then paraded William 'Bogs' Adornado, Danny Florencio and Yoyong Martirez among others in its line up, has qualified for the Olympics.
The Philippines participated in the Winter Olympics three times, in 1972 (Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca, alpine skiing), in 1988 (Raymund Ocampo, luge) and in 1992 (Michael Teruel, alpine skiing).
The largest delegation the Philippines has ever sent to the Games was 53 in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The Philippines is the first country to compete and win an Olympic medal among Southeast Asian countries.
The men's Philippine Basketball team is the first country to ever score 100 or more points in the 1948 Olympics after clobbering Iraq,102-30.
The Philippine basketball team wound up fifth place—best finish for an Asian country in the Olympics to date—in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the first time basketball was played as an Olympic sport.
Arianne Cerdena won a gold in bowling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but Cerdena's gold was not included in the medal tally since bowling was considered only as a demonstration sport.
Harry Tañamor, the only Filipino predicted to win by the Sports Illustrated in its Olympic Preview edition, bows out in the first match up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Men's boxing has for medals in the Olympics with Anthony Villanueva, silver in the Featherweight Division of the 1964 Games in Tokyo; Leopoldo Serantes, third in 1988 Seoul; Roel Velasco, third in Barcelona; and his brother Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, second in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Philippines holds the record for winning the most medals without a gold haul with seven bronze and two silvers for a total of nine.
Teofilo Yldefonso is the first Filipino to win a medal and the only one to take home multiple medals. He finished third both in the Men's 200 meter breastroke during the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
The Philippines is the first nation in the tropics to ever participate in the Winter Olympic Games.
With only eight athletes in six sporting events for the London Games, this will be PH's smallest delegation since 1996.
The Philippines will shoot for its first gold medal in six of the following events in the 2012 London Olympics: Athletics, BMX, Boxing, Cycling, Shooting and Swimming.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, though not competing, carries the Philippine flag at the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
