A big year for football

With all the parties we have to attend, moderation seems a very hard thing to do.

Many of the people I know allow for some extra intake during the Christmas season, but at the start of the New Year, they work really hard to get back into the shape that they were in before the holidays.

As we grow older, the task gets harder. So, with just a few more days to go before the holidays end, let me remind you again about moderation especially when it comes to the food we eat.

My bike, which has not been touched for months now, will be coming out of hibernation soon as I need to sweat it out again on the mountains of my town.

More than getting some exercise, it is also good to commune with nature.

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The year 2011 was a big one for football in this country, which still considers basketball as its number one sport.

The fact that basketball remains as the most popular sport in the Philippines, hurts the feeling of some diehard football fans, but accepting would help those pushing the sport understand what is needed to make this a football country.

The sudden rise in popularity of the national team, which we fondly call the Azkals, should be the biggest football story of the year.

While the success of the team hasn’t really been hinged on success on the game field, the fact that the Azkals are now one of the most popular teams of the country is reason enough for us to keep on pushing football.

The team’s success in terms of marketing has been spectacular, but this of course needs to be sustained with success on the field, which we hope to stat achieving very soon.

The Philippines remains one of the minnows of international football, but people are starting to notice the potential. This is evident in the fact that television networks already air the games of the national team and also the United Football League.

The UFL gives the locally-bred booters a chance to move up after playing varsity football.

This is the semi-pro league we have long been hoping for and hopefully it will mature into the football league that would be the breeding ground for players of the national team.

There is still so much to be desired for the sport of football and many seem very eager to see immediate results. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen that way.

Philippine football has done a Lazarus in 2011. In order for it to continue with this resurgence, the fans have to be there to support and the leaders have to agree on a common goal.

Football is not a one-man game and so is helping develop it in our country.

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MILESTONES: Belated happy birthday greetings go to Cristina ‘Teng’ Angan and my mistah Arthur Emmanuel Acot, who turned a year older last Monday.

The same goes to those who celebrated yesterday like Atty. Hector Ll Fernandez, father of my buddy Atty. Vicente Fernandez II. 

Belated greetings also go to my former student Christine Hornido, who turned a year older yesterday.

Today’s greetings go to my mistah Lt. Col. Inocencio Pasaporte, Cynthia Tiu, Dodon Montesclaros, Marianne Ho-Posadas, and Jessie Saclo III.

More power to all of you!