Pacquiao unraveling
A few days ago, veteran sportswriter Ronnie Nathanielz wrote in his paper a two-part tribute to the great Cebuano boxing champion Gabriel “Flash” Elorde. Nathanielz called Elorde the greatest Filipino champion of all time. I couldn’t agree with him more.
Nathanielz wrote the tribute in connection with the death anniversary of Elorde, which continues to be observed and remembered today with great respect by those whose lives the former bootblack from
Interestingly, a few days after Nathanielz wrote his glowing account of Elorde’s days of glory and eventual passage from the scene, a nation that is currently being mesmerized by a new boxing icon was given an entirely different treat.
The same paper that Nathanielz writes for came out with photos of current Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao on its front page, one showing him with his wife and infant daughter, two others showing him with a pretty young thing dancing cheek-to-cheek.
Okay, let us face it. Having a night out with the boys is not exactly a mortal sin, especially in this machismo-driven country with great Roman Catholic pretensions. It is no great wrong to have a little fun and enjoy the fruits of honest labor.
The two photos of Manny Pacquiao dancing cheek-to-cheek with that pretty young thing do not show anything other than their faces. It is up to the beholder what kind of suggestions he would like to derive from them.
In fact, the pretty young thing was certainly pretty enough and young enough to make all hot-blooded males who saw the picture eat their hearts out with envy. Sigh. If only they had Pacquiao’s riches, they probably would be in his place.
But this is not really about the picture. We do not care what happened outside the borders of the photographs. The point is, Pacquiao does not deserve the nation’s adulation beyond his exploits in the ring.
Elorde and Pacquiao may both be great warriors in the roped arena. But that is the only thing they share. Outside it, their differences are too great for the two to even be close for comparison.
Elorde was respected for his humility, his nobleness of heart. He remained true to his commitments. He did not make the kind of money Pacquiao is now making. Nevertheless, he shared what he had with those who had even less.
And he paid back to God what he owed. He build chapels and churches with his earning, edifices that remain today, giving hope and shelter to those whose only source of strength is their faith.
I will not try to badmouth Pacquiao, especially since it has become the standard defense of his camp to dismiss unflattering reports about the boxing star as the handiwork of those who want to besmirch his name. Besides, Pacquiao is doing a great job of it himself.
On the other hand, I will continue to root for Pacquiao according to the real reason why most Filipinos consider him, erroneously, as a hero. We are so down on our national pride that when Pacquiao gives his opponents hell, it makes us all feel good about ourselves.
By the way, the story that accompanied those interesting photos of Pacquiao said he was now a changed person and is a family man again. Good for him. He has a lot of recovering to do if he has to catch up with Elorde in the nation’s eternal, not ephemeral, hall of glory.
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Members of the Visayanian Staffers Alumni Association will be having their annual reunion this coming Friday, January 18, at the
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