What’s worse?

Being stuck in traffic for two and a half hours in last Monday’s monster gridlock is nothing compared to losing the championship by two points in overtime. That was the rejoinder of our sports editor to the complaints of those of us who had to endure hours on the road, maneuvering through side streets and alternate routes, as he continued to mourn the heartbreak loss of his alma mater UST to rival La Salle in the UAAP basketball tournament that concluded the other Saturday in a cliffhanger of a third game.

The atmosphere was funereal here in the office as the UST alumni among the staff (there are apparently no La Sallites here) were stunned – shocked might be a more appropriate term – by what many thought was their championship. That Saturday afternoon there were no analyses, no post-game commentaries – just stunned silence. The commentaries came in full force by Monday – after the tears, I suppose – with coach and player consigned to burn in hell (the poor guys were mercilessly bashed on social media, with reports of death threats even), with conspiracy theories about hidden loyalties and rumors of new cars and other possible explanations for the loss. Of course they blamed the referees too.

After all these years I am still amazed at how seriously and passionately Pinoys take their basketball. The other week was a busy one for Pinoy basketball fans, not only because of that epic UAAP championship, but also because of the first ever NBA game played on these here shores. The giants of the NBA – I mean that literally – descended on Manila that week, holding clinics and promo appearances before their pre-season game on Thursday. I was at the supermarket that morning and the conversation among the guys stacking merchandise as well as the bagboys at the checkout counters was all about the game that night, the strengths and weaknesses of the players, which team would win... Everyone was an expert, everyone knew their players, everyone could call the game – it makes those of us who don’t know/don’t care (the ma’s and pa’s – malay ko, pakialam ko) downright alienated, almost un-Pinoy for not participating in the national frenzy.

But about that monster traffic snarl last Monday. No matter what organizers and spokesmen may claim, it was a show of force, a not-so-subtle reminder that they have the ability to sow chaos and to bring the metropolis to a standstill. They flexed their muscles, and local government officials quivered in their boots, allowing them to take over and close whatever streets they wanted – even main thoroughfares like R. Magsaysay Blvd. in Sta. Mesa – and turn them into parking lots for the buses and jeepneys they hired to ferry in all those bodies for their supposed medical-dental mission. If that was really all it was, why paralyze the city on the first workday of the week just to dispense gamot sa ubo and teach dental hygiene and give out relief packs? They could easily have done their mission right in the barangays, on a Sunday, outside the city center...when and where they would notdisrupt everyone else’s lives. 

As the senator said, there’s a message there, and if you don’t get it, you’re a fool.