Loyalty

Loyalty.

The word has been bandied lightly about. Does it even hold its true meaning?

I’m writing this in connection with what I recently wrote for UnBlogged. If you’ve read it, you would know that I hit people in Intramuros who resort to hating and crab mentality when their team, particularly their school, records an L. I’m pretty sure every “supportive alumnus” thinks what I did was disloyal.

But here’s the deal. Past all that blind rage you have been fueling yourselves with the past what? Five years? You do know that deep within yourself, you did resort to hating and crab mentality when the institution you proudly studied at lost to a school, a new member at that, that had a player who is half-Pinoy and looks more like an African-American than an Amerasian. Does hating on a player who only does what he is asked to very commendable as a sign of loyalty to your school while someone who notices that it is wrong makes him disloyal? Is that so?

I’m a fan of good basketball, and good football. When teams suck, I just flat out become irate. No matter if it’s the Philippine national team going up against a big Asian rival or the Azkals being thumped by our better neighbors. But that doesn’t entirely mean I’m not loyal to flag and country whenever I direct a shot or two on them. Doesn’t it show you that I care? Because if I do not, then I would just shut my yap and watch the downward spiral of our sports teams, school teams and the like, with glee, guffawing at their incompetencies. I would gloat by saying “I-told-you-sos.” I would grind it to your face how much incompetency you are dealing with.

But I digress. I like to point out the wrongs. Because I just simply care. And why would I care? It’s because I want to see good, competitive games, deprived of seething hate and utter ignorance on the part of “supportive alumni.”

Loyalty.

Loyalty is when you support your team through and through, whether it be on a losing streak or winning streak.

I never wavered from supporting the Chicago Bulls through the Dark Ages before Derrick Rose dropped on the Bulls’ laps. I never surrendered and gave up, supporting the Blue and White through the trying times wherein we continously got blown by De La Salle after the core of the 2002 championship team left. Even if the play and choice of the national team for basketball continues to suck, sans the Toroman days, I still stuck up for them, criticizing them, pinpointing what they can do better and what they do best. When Barcelona walked through this turbulent season, I cheered for Barca, win or lose.

When Ateneo was pegged at 4-5 in that breakthrough season back in 2002, people wrote them off too early. I stuck up for the Eagles. I never let the record speak for itself. And guess what, the guys rewarded me with a championship to remember. Maybe the same can happen to those “fans” in Intramuros if their 1-3 team can get enough moral support, which has been thoroughly lacking since the first game. But that’s just a maybe.

That is loyalty.

You fellas, what about you? I’m willing to bet you’ll jump ship and complain as soon as your school get on a losing streak and look sluggish and bad.

Show me your loyalty.

Or you can put your words between two pieces of bread and eat it.

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