Celestial

If only Filipinos rooted for Alex Eala the way they did for Celeste Cortesi, the highest placed Filipina tennis player would have been more inspired to fight for her inaugural right to play in the ladies’ singles at this year’s grand slam down under. No one cared, no one even noticed when Eala dated history last week, except the sparse Filipino tennis community who followed her journey in the toughest test of her potential for greatness.

Of course fan support does not guarantee victory, no matter how loud it can be. It did not make a difference for the Fil-Italian stunner. She failed to make the cut, even if like those who advanced, she too is drop dead beautiful, tall, graceful and well spoken. The unexpected happened, no Philippines in the top 16. Dead air. Stunned, muted, disappointed and incensed like the world ended.

If only fans reacted with such strength and passion when Alex took the first set but blew away her lead in the second until she succumbed in the final set, the tennis prodigy would have felt more reassured losing is part of winning.

But virtually no one was there for her, except her team and family. And herself, the Rafa Nadal Academy must have trained her mind to focus despite the circus, the ruckus and yes, the oblivious. The articulate teen ditched borrowed language to speak in her native tongue when she won her girls’ singles title at Flushing Meadows to bring tennis closer to her country.

But the attention of her countrymen and women are elsewhere, hungrier for the glitz and glamour of a beauty pageant, not seeing the glamour in sports, especially in women’s tennis. Maria Sharapova looked hotter in tennis gear than in formal wear. Alexandra is also a sight to behold, tall and bronzed. Thankfully, she is not obsessed with vanity but she is with agility.

But at least they see it in women’s volleyball, that strength and speed are compatible with beauty and grace, where tall, pretty and smart collegiate athletes turned celebrities spike their way to stardom. Or queendom, until a few of them lost the wisdom on how to treat their fans.

If only Filipinos debate on how to recalibrate Philippine sports the way they strategize for next year’s search for most beautiful, officials would have learned and unlearned, and Alex would have picked some tips for her next step. But no, they’d rather agonize what could have been and theorize what should be done to spice the next pageant delegate, but never how to spice down price of onions.

But of course it is easy to argue pageantry is what Filipinos like. No one should dictate what entertains the fans or what means more to them. It cannot be replaced, except by force or intimidation or other forms of duress that vitiate consent, like the color of money during elections. It boils down to personal choice. Bottom line. It however partly explains why in sports we are almost always at the bottom of the line.