desperately seeking school spirit

as a blogger, impressions flood my senses like a fireworks explosion in the midnight sky.  as a sportscaster wannabe, i need to focus on the facts of the moment:  who’s making the winning shot? who made that dunk shot late in the third?  what prompted the foul that sent the star player off the floor?  there’s more.  from the perspective of a tennis-football-F1 nut, my vocabulary has to expand exponentially in the shortest time possible to include phrases like “at the top of the key,” “in the paint,” and “triple”.  i only know the shaded lane or the penalty area, so the paint and the top of the key, although familiar, are not yet part of my natural sports breath.  i must learn to breathe those words pronto, as in due yesterday!  and sure, i can say “trey” but after trying hard to think of synonyms for a three-point shot, the last one i remembered was “triple”. oh well, like i said, i need to learn the jargon fast lest i be buried not only by the flurry of events but by the competition. 

but as a blogger i am most serene and secure. 

during the final four games of the philippine collegiate championships last saturday at the arena in san juan, i was busy scribbling down notes in my english teacher steno notebook.  i could not filter out the screaming fans, the tribal drum beats of the opposing teams’ cheering squads, and the constant hum and murmur of a restless crowd living and dying as each second brought the game towards the inevitable conclusion. 

i watched the letran and san beda cheerleaders strut their stuff on the floor, yelling themselves hoarse, sweating as they jumped and danced and pumped their fists in the air before their appreciatively screaming schoolmates.  and i thought, “where the hell is the blue babble?  this is the heart of collegiate spirit — at these inter-league games!”  i was atenista but deeply ashamed to proclaim it, in spite of the fact that we had just pipped the letran knights in the first game. 

i felt more in union with the fans of letran in the first game and i willed on the knights to win the game, to show my alma mater that they were just one complacent bunch, and i wanted to see the more spirited team make it to the championships where they belonged.  the “best of the best” league was made for the schools with not only the most skilled players on the floor but also in the stands, on their feet, screaming themselves hoarse, hearts racing madly.

nakakahiya kayo, ateneo, kayo lang ang walang cheering squad man lang sa stands.  yuck talaga.  diyahe!

mabuti pa ang letran, san beda, and even those “nincompoops” from taft.  don ko lang masasabing lamang na lamang ang la salle sa atin, sa kanilang school spirit.  panalo talaga sila!

and siyempre, pag cover ko ng games sa araneta bukas, expect the self-important atenistas to flood the coliseum.  casual fans will be vying for seats alongside the true fans of the other schools.  the shuffling alumni who look like they haven’t exercised in a decade will take the prominent seats, swing their fists, maybe even sing a song or two or yell a cheer when the mood strikes, but all i can tell you atenistas are, “fakes!  where were you when your team really needed you?  where were you when baclao, not fully fit, struggled to keep his team ahead of the letran knights who came within a hair of kicking our boys out of the PCC in shame!”

sheesh.  expect the cheesy blue shirts over paunches and flabby braceleted arms to strut their stuff around the big dome.  ma-traffic sa cubao bukas because all the silly SUVs will be clogging the lanes alongside the jeepneys and LRT 2 trains that will ferry the real fans into araneta.  god save me from seeing them at all.

i will be cheering for the letran knights in the first game.  as for the second…  hindi ko talaga alam!  sabi ko nga kay rico maierhofer when he left the arena last saturday, of course after complimenting him for being one of the most complete players i watched that day (along with jv casio, tecson, buenafe and daa), “good luck!  may the better team win!”  hindi ko inamin na atenista ako, at hindi ako proud sa fact na yon.  kasi whichever team shows more heart, grit, passion, and the will to win will win my loyalty.

that’s how i am as a sports fan, be it tennis, football, formula one and now, well, college hoops as well.

for news reports on the exciting games last saturday, you can read what i wrote for inboundpass.com at these links (shout out to chris soler for his awesome editing!  he made me look sooo good!):

1. ateneo blue eagles squeaks past the knights
2. la salle sets up a rematch with the blue eagles with a come from behind victory over the san beda red lions

i-rate niyo na rin ha, hehehe…  comment na rin para medyo ma-balanse yung medyo jologs wars na di maiwasan don.  let’s build traffic muli! 

friends, totoo na ito!  sana tuloy-tuloy na!  🙂

if not nole, not rafa either

nole bows out to roger in their four-set semi-final clash yesterday afternoon in new york 

and the muzzah is in his first grand slam final!  i am soooo happy for andy murray.  which is surprising considering he just kicked my beloved rafael nadal out of the USO in an exciting four-set match that spanned two days and a lot of rain.i caught myself crying when nole beat roddick, and then again last night when he lost to roger federer, and then again when i woke up this morning.  but the brave-hearted scotsman with the wild hair rescued my USO for me.

 

andy murray in his first grand slam final 

in tomorrow’s final, men who have not won a slam title in 2008.  andy sailed into his first grand slam semifinal with an emotional win over fellow junior, the tall argentine juan martin del potro and finally notched his first victory over rafa, making their head-to-head 1-5, murray-rafa.in the ladies’ final which is scheduled to start in 2 1/2 hours, first time slam finalist jelena jankovic of serbia takes on 8-time grand slam winner and 2-time USO champion serena williams of the united states.  jelena’s slam count? zero.  

 

signature rafa celebration — although it may just be my imagination but is the boy fatigued? time to go home to mallorca now, my sweet. what a great year you’ve had so far! 

roger’s slam count? 12.  andy’s? zero.i’m rooting for the players who have never won a slam tomorrow!  they may fail at the last hurdle but they must be hungry, really really hungry.

 

jelena jankovic in her first grand slam final after she defeated elena dementieva 6-4 6-4 in friday’s semi-final 

ajde jelena!  go andy! 

(all photos courtesy of the los angeles times)

damned if i do, damned if i don’t

there he was, being interviewed on court by barcan.  and then suddenly the crowd started booing.  what had novak djokovic said in a post-match interview on centre court at flushing meadows?  he had just beaten american andy roddick in four sets.  there was a very cold handshake at the net and then a lot of fiery, intense heart jabbing and head thrown back with matching yell to the night sky.

roddick had said in an interview two days before that he thought nole had 16 injuries or so.  as a fan of nole, i found this remark funny but i also knew that it could spur nole into an abyss of anger and resentment.

when nole came on court tonight, his eyes were dark, shooting daggers across the net.  he calmly and coldly flattened roddick in the first two sets before the american found his bearings and managed to steal the third set.  when nole grabbed the match by the throat in a tense fourth set tiebreak, little did anyone expect the dark, bitter molasses of his heart to spill out.

it doesn’t matter whether this crowd loves me or not, nole told the blubbering announcer darkly, they always think i’m faking it anyway.

barcan sputtered, wait, this crowd didn’t say this, only andy did and it was a joke.

nole would have none of it.  it’s not a nice thing to say, nevertheless, he shot back.  and i am absolutely thrilled to have beaten the homeboy in his home tournament and oh, his favourite too, right?

i will admit that i did not see it myself but read about it through impassioned roger fans for the most part.  but when i read a transcription of what happened, my maverick balls just kicked in (after i dried the tears that had washed off my moisturiser).

you go, nole.  you must be sick and tired of pleasing a crowd that is only critical of everything you do.  the public is fickle but the people who matter aren’t.  so know who they are.  as for your parents, man, i wish you could get away from them for a while!  but they’re the ones who love you unquestioningly.  so it’s hard. who am i to judge?

just know i’m firmly in your camp, nole.  firmly there.

ok, after seeing the youtube clip of the post-match interview, i’m grinning broadly and just LOVING nole.  ajde!!! enjoy it with me.  go, johnny mac!  woohoooo!

*photo credit: corned beef hash

my rafa, my one and only rafa

it’ll be over soon, m’ luv 

there are simply no words to describe this incredible feeling.  none. 

match point, rafa up 40-15.  darkness encroaching.  the serve by rafa, returned by roger which rafa “forehands” crosscourt to roger’s forehand, which roger takes, crosscourt to rafa’s backhand.  only it never gets there.  the net catches the spinning ball, not high enough to clear the tape.  and rafa falls to the grass.

it is done.

it is over.  one year of pain ended.  of waiting.  there is a happy ending, indeed.  sport.  magnificent, epic, sport.

five hours before, after the initial coin toss, before a 2-0 rush by rafa, before an 81-minute rain delay, before a stirring two-set comeback by the five-time defending champion, and before a thrilling end in the gathering gloam

roger made it a beautiful match by coming back from two sets down.  rafa lifted up the hopes of those who BELIEVED that he could and when i had given up at the end of the fourth set tiebreak (how many times did i die in those 4 hours and 48 minutes?  i stopped counting after the first rain delay!  i was fixed to my sofa for all of 7 hours, never relinquishing bbc 1 for the entire saga, rain delays, documentaries, interviews, and all) — rafa still found a way to lift up my hopes.  and his strong belief in himself, his positive attitude that refused to buckle in face of the insurmountable momentum swing to roger at the end of that nerve-wracking tiebreak… 

after 6 years, roger has his first runner’s up plate; after 3 years, rafa gets his hands on the coveted prize

rafa, mi rafalito, beloved rafael.  my one and only rafa.

yummy quarterfinals day for the men

i’m ill today probably due to fatigue over the last six weeks and some pressing emotional issues over in cyberworld and not even the green of wimbledon grass has helped keep me together. 🙂

rafa attempts to get into his third wimbledon semifinal when he squares off against britain’s andy murray on a highly partisan centre court tomorrow

but i need not worry for tomorrow is men’s quarterfinals day and there are mouthwatering matches on centre court featuring roger federer and mario ancic in the first clash, followed by rafael nadal and andy murray (who will no doubt have the crowd on his side).  the swiss maestro and his croat counterpart share the dubious distinction of having struggled with mononucleosis and of the eight quarterfinalists, boast of fine grasscourt games that will surely be pitted against each other in what promises to be a scintillating display of brilliant winners.  the spanish number two seed will be flexing his muscles against the pale scot who has been manned up by his five-set conquest of fellow junior in the talented richard gasquet.  i am absolutely positively sure that this match will light up centre court in both tennis and drama aspects.  you can count on that!

court one will feature marat safin and the delicious feliciano lopez (he of the see-through whites and grecian profile) followed by the veterans of the tour, arnaud clement and rainer schuettler.  my beloved captain seeks to reach his first semifinals, as well as his spanish opponent who has a 4-1 lead over him.  lopez was the last one to beat him at wimbledon in the third round two years ago.  this will be a game of big serves, fine volleys, and pounding ground strokes.  count on the battle of the 30-somethings clement and schuettler to be filled with fine baseline play and exquisite net play as both doubles specialists bring out their all-court games.

feliciano lopez swings against marcos baghdatis in their fourth round match monday

i will have our laptop on and logged into my wimbledon live account for court one action while bbc will be aired into my living room through our tv.  the minute they show both matches simultaneously on bbc 1 & 2, i will be switching between the two channels between points.  most probably most of my attention will be on the marat-feli match for the first time slot and definitely the rafa-andy match for the second.

i was thrilled last sunday when spain won the euro 2008 title and thought of rafa and feli watching the match together and celebrating afterwards.  it comes as a pleasant bonus to see them both through to the quarterfinals (i had hoped that verdasco might have completed the trio but he fell to a determinded ancic 13-11 in their fifth set last monday).  rafa is aiming for a spanish double on the pitch, although he knows it will be more difficult to do it on wimby’s grass. 

bring on my men!  methinks my fever might just scale new heights tomorrow.  🙂

the master of clay

rafael nadal has won all the major masters series shield on clay, equalling gustavo kuerten and marcelo rios in this feat.  that is esteemed company on the red stuff, seeing as how both south americans (guga is brazilian, rios chilean) were former world number 1’s and known for their artistic and flowing tennis, especially on clay.  guga is the only person aside from rafa to have won all clay masters titles and the roland garros crown, and like rafa, they’ve won it three times.  if rafa wins the french open on june 8, bjorn borg will be on hand to hand him the beautiful trophy and what a moment that would be! i hope rafa triumphs.

but i am getting ahead of myself.  rafa has to get through potential threats, notably in swiftly rising star novak djokovic and his all-time block to the number 1 throne, roger federer himself.  after an epic semifinal with nole lasting 3 hours and 8 minutes on saturday, rafa took to the court on sunday’s final against roger in a match that lasted for 2 hours and 52 minutes.  it was a more “subdued” affair following the thrilling semifinal but filled with drama nonetheless.  the match featured ebbs and flows from both players, neither being able to match the other in terms of intensity and beautiful tennis.  the most notable achievement of rafa in the match that clearly puts him head and shoulders above the rest of the tour, roger and nole included, on clay, was his uncanny ability to come from two breaks down in the first set and one break down in the second to take it to a tiebreak when it seemed that roger would win the match handily in straights.

roger did his part in coming from a break down in the second to take the set in a tiebreak, something that he has not managed to do in all his defeats to rafa on clay, a fact that many of his fans saw as a flicker of hope for his roland garros quest.  should roger win the french open this year, he would most certainly cement his status as the greatest of all time.  no more doubts, no more asterisks.

it would break my heart if rafa did not win at the french open, his undisputed castle.  the french crowd will not be rooting for him as they will be thirsty for a new champion, so rafa will have only his diehard fans cheering him on.  there will be many contenders for this crown but i’m hoping that rafa will stave off the competition and emerge as the champion once more, equalling the great bjorn borg’s feat of four consecutive roland garros crowns.

vamonos rafael!

it always hurts

check out rafa’s foot, man. i used to be a dancer in my high school days and in our rehearsals and training sessions, often went barefoot. not all the powder and tape in the world could prevent the inevitable cracked callouses and blisters, and when these happened, it was living hell.

it always hurt. those callouses coming open, i mean, and those danged watery blisters. ouch.

whenever rafa loses, big tournament (read: wimbledon 2007 — ack, i named the dreaded tournament!; USO 2007; AO 2007; indian wells 2008; miami 2008; rome 2008) or not (read: rotterdam 2008), it always hurts.

when people never try to find out your side of the story and are quick to form judgements en masse, thereby excluding you from future events/gatherings/etc, it always hurts. no matter how old i become, it will always hurt.

when my own siblings turned their back on me aided by the perception that i am the papa’s girl or that i’ve always had it too good while they had to scrabble for scraps, it always hurts.

when people i thought were my friends cannot be there in times of need, oh it always hurts.

when an ex-boyfriend (or two. or three. or more.) will never relinquish any old thoughts of how bitchy i was in the past and never ceases to let me know about it, it always hurts.

oh it’s that time of the month, believe me. rafa losing yesterday to juan carlos ferrero was bad timing in svelte rogue’s myopic world. novak is my only hope now.

 

 

rafa: the perfect anniversary gift

today marks the 7th year of married life to a wonderful man, friend, and lover 🙂

the day before, my idol of idols threw himself down on the ground for bliss of us and the news of our growing bond of love and commitment. it was as if he cried, “vamos svelte rogue and waswit! long may you live!”

such joy did he share with us that he could not keep his naughty thoughts to himself. said he, “ooooh, if i could only get a bite out of the cup of your love… i would!” i didn’t mind it one bit. he could bite all my cups!

with his irrepressible energy, it was no surprise that he could not bear to keep the news to himself. so off he ran in search of another soul (and body — both of them gorgeous, body and soul, i mean, but you can say the same for my idol of idols as well), crying, “not just one cup of love, tommy, but two! dos por dos!” if waswit were into the swing mode, i would so want a foursome pronto! 🙂

what could i say in face of his boundless joy and energy? his effervescent love for the game and enthusiasm? his twinkling eyes, his astute mind, his beautiful tennis. my rafa. the undisputed king of clay. long may he live! vamonos, mi rafalito!

*all photos courtesy of the official photo gallery of the monte carlo masters atp

i’m not letting these go!

i majorly jeopardised my roland garros dream last year… but not this time around. i just checked my account with the french open billeterie and found that my suzanne lenglen tickets have been confirmed. just like last year, i ordered philippe chatrier tickets but indicated that i was okay with alternative tickets if this order could not be filled. of course they weren’t, double dang. but still, i am going to roland garros this may, baby!

nothing can keep me from my rafalito! paris, here i come!

*photo courtesy of abc news

rafa will always break my heart

it is no secret that rafa is my favourite player. it is also no secret that when pete bodo writes about rafa in a meta-whimsical way, it will open the floodgates of my heart and remind me that maybe my rafalito will never be number one in the world — ever. when i say in the title that he has broken my heart yet once more, i did not mean to point an accusing finger at he who would put me through so much anguish. it is not like that at all.