Pride.
Exhaustion has set in. For anybody reading; touring, eating, and gambling all day in Vegas + a late night red eye flight + going straight to work from the airport = NOT a good idea. Granted, this isn't the first time I've done this, but for some reason, when I'm actually planning the trip, I always seem to think "it'll be ok this time."
So the real question is, what would make a person do all this? Well, besides the obvious reasons for a trip to Vegas (and there are always many), this past trip had one reason stand out from the rest, the Main reason. The same reason thousands of other Filipinos had to be in Las Vegas this past weekend. The same reason Mandalay Bay looked oddly like Araneta Coliseum. The same reason that united us all. Manny Pacquiao.
Ok, so it sounds a little dramatic. But if there was one word to describe Manny Pacquiao's life (in and out of the ring), dramatic would be it. From his knockouts to his personal life to his political aspirations, it captures you. They say there's no bad publicity, and whether people are talking about him praising him or talking about him negatively, there remains one constant, people are talking about him, because people are interested in him.
Now, I'm guessing there weren't too many of the haters there at Mandalay Bay that night, although I'm sure there were some, to witness what Manny Pacquiao means to the Philippines and Filipinos in general. Love Him or Hate him, you have to admit that we have nothing else to compare him to in our home country. He is our World Cup team, our international superstar, our entire Olympic Team (both Summer and Winter). Yes, we do have actual people and teams that do compete in international games, and this is by no means a post to degrade them, but before Pacquiao, I never got to feel the passion that Italy felt a year ago in Germany, or that older Pinoys might remember with Gabriel “Flash” Elorde or Pancho Villa. And while boxing may be in a decline in popularity, Manny Pacquiao has become our national idol and hero, our nation's son that we can be proud of, especially since he's not just good at what he does, he's really good. That's why when I'm one of 10,000 people at the arena chanting "Man-ny! Man-ny!", I'm not just chanting and cheering for Manny, I'm chanting and cheering for the Philippines.
Cheering for the Philippines... hmm. I was gonna go on about how I'm still Filipino even though technically I'm a Fil-Am, but it digressed from the main point of this post. I've lived in both a place where there weren't many Filipinos around you (except for family) and within a large Filipino community. And while it's definitely a good feeling to be around other Pinoys, for the most part, you still go around and do your own thing, you're able to walk around having a feeling of familiarity because you're around people who have the same roots as you do, but really, we're still strangers. But when we're all in the same place, for the same purpose, all wearing the colors of OUR country, we're all family just rooting for our brother.
I mean, I love being Filipino. There aren't any specific things I can my finger on right now on why I do, I just do, it's because it's who I am. And any chance I get, you better believe I'ma let you know that I'm proud of who I am. So if you're telling me, not only do I get to do this while cheering on Pacquiao, but I get to do it with thousands of other people at the exact same time??? I'm in.
I understand that some people may not like boxing, some people may prefer to be doing other things than watching a fight, that some people may not care that Pacquiao is as good as he is. But we all should be proud of being Filipino. If only we all could be so lucky to be proud of who we are and to exclaim it on a world stage. And that's exactly what Manny does for the Philippines on an international level for Filipinos all over the world. So Macau, San Diego, Las Vegas, Wherever, just let me know when his next fight is, so I can start looking for some daytime flights this time.
So the real question is, what would make a person do all this? Well, besides the obvious reasons for a trip to Vegas (and there are always many), this past trip had one reason stand out from the rest, the Main reason. The same reason thousands of other Filipinos had to be in Las Vegas this past weekend. The same reason Mandalay Bay looked oddly like Araneta Coliseum. The same reason that united us all. Manny Pacquiao.
Ok, so it sounds a little dramatic. But if there was one word to describe Manny Pacquiao's life (in and out of the ring), dramatic would be it. From his knockouts to his personal life to his political aspirations, it captures you. They say there's no bad publicity, and whether people are talking about him praising him or talking about him negatively, there remains one constant, people are talking about him, because people are interested in him.
Now, I'm guessing there weren't too many of the haters there at Mandalay Bay that night, although I'm sure there were some, to witness what Manny Pacquiao means to the Philippines and Filipinos in general. Love Him or Hate him, you have to admit that we have nothing else to compare him to in our home country. He is our World Cup team, our international superstar, our entire Olympic Team (both Summer and Winter). Yes, we do have actual people and teams that do compete in international games, and this is by no means a post to degrade them, but before Pacquiao, I never got to feel the passion that Italy felt a year ago in Germany, or that older Pinoys might remember with Gabriel “Flash” Elorde or Pancho Villa. And while boxing may be in a decline in popularity, Manny Pacquiao has become our national idol and hero, our nation's son that we can be proud of, especially since he's not just good at what he does, he's really good. That's why when I'm one of 10,000 people at the arena chanting "Man-ny! Man-ny!", I'm not just chanting and cheering for Manny, I'm chanting and cheering for the Philippines.
Cheering for the Philippines... hmm. I was gonna go on about how I'm still Filipino even though technically I'm a Fil-Am, but it digressed from the main point of this post. I've lived in both a place where there weren't many Filipinos around you (except for family) and within a large Filipino community. And while it's definitely a good feeling to be around other Pinoys, for the most part, you still go around and do your own thing, you're able to walk around having a feeling of familiarity because you're around people who have the same roots as you do, but really, we're still strangers. But when we're all in the same place, for the same purpose, all wearing the colors of OUR country, we're all family just rooting for our brother.
I mean, I love being Filipino. There aren't any specific things I can my finger on right now on why I do, I just do, it's because it's who I am. And any chance I get, you better believe I'ma let you know that I'm proud of who I am. So if you're telling me, not only do I get to do this while cheering on Pacquiao, but I get to do it with thousands of other people at the exact same time??? I'm in.
I understand that some people may not like boxing, some people may prefer to be doing other things than watching a fight, that some people may not care that Pacquiao is as good as he is. But we all should be proud of being Filipino. If only we all could be so lucky to be proud of who we are and to exclaim it on a world stage. And that's exactly what Manny does for the Philippines on an international level for Filipinos all over the world. So Macau, San Diego, Las Vegas, Wherever, just let me know when his next fight is, so I can start looking for some daytime flights this time.
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