Pain, under-card matches, and Filipino pride

I am not a very big fan of pain. Any kind of pain. I literally run away from baby needles that are the size of sewing thread. And I’ve never been in a fight, because really, I don’t think I have the capacity to get smacked around. In a fight situation, I’d probably just try and weasel my way out: compliment whoever it is that wants to beat me up, offer him some gum, tell him the next round is on me- anything just to avoid his fist making solid contact with my face/stomach/medulla oblongata.

Even pain in movies and on TV affect me. Prolonged war scenes, for example, where trenches, dirt, and agony become the motivation of actors and actresses motivate me to go outside and play What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye on my guitar. Even reality fighting TV shows are really pointless to me. Grown men, grappling and riding each other on the ground constantly hitting each other, all to see who the best fighter really is; the alpha male or whatever. It’s actu-ally kind of disturbing in a way because all that close contact makes it look a bit fruity and queer. It’s also kind of childish in a schoolyard/playground kind of way, too, if you ask me. These guys were probably bullies in their elementary days. They grew up, scared everyone in the workplace when they went job-hunting, and never could land an office job. So they studied under different schools of "self-defense" and continued being bullies. I guess that works for them, different strokes for different folks.

Don’t get me wrong, though, I know that pain exists. I am not delusional or anything, sugar-coating the truth so that I can live in my own world where everything is like it is on that TV show 7th Heaven, and where everyone is as happy and gay as Mr. Rogers. That would make me a certified, class-A psycho. In know pain is everywhere, I just tend to stay far, far away from it.

Last Sunday, however, I was given the chance to watch straight up pain after being invited to watch Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Oscar Larios. Instead of staying far away from all the brutality, my friends Chase, Kyle and I were given ringside seats at the Araneta Coliseum.

But it wasn’t as brutal as I thought it would be. Larios came out with a bloody cut right above his eye and Pacquiao’s face was like a swollen melon afterwards, but it wasn’t really that painful to watch. I noticed that the boxing match was more like a very dangerous dance: there are two people, they prance around in the ring, and when one of them does something out of time, he gets a solid whack in the face or the body.

I thought I’d be cringing in my seat with every blow, but I actually got into it. I don’t know, there’s something thrilling about seeing our country’s prized fighter going up against a really tough opponent, and winning on his own turf. A friend once said that Manny Pacquiao is a beacon of hope for this country and I agree. He is living proof that if you strive for something, you will definitely get it. And I’m sure Pacquiao has experienced and endured pains that you and I would never be able to handle. To hear the people roar with gusto after he won, man, that was priceless.

But something else happened last Sunday that I found truly hurtful. A boxer is trained to really unload on his opponent, and if any normal person without the proper training were to take those punches, they could end up in the hospital or something. But the crowd can hurt boxers too, in ways that hurt a lot more than mere punches.

Right after Pacquiao’s fight against Larios, five other boxing matches were scheduled. The ring announcer told everyone to keep their seats because these were going to be really good fights, but everyone just up and left. After it was all done, about 15 percent of the crowd remained to watch the other fights. I find this more painful than actually receiving a blow from an opponent because cuts and bruises can be healed, but such events could scar any athlete for life. Imagine getting into the ring and seeing people leave because the star of the day just left. That sucks, big time. I guess that comes with greatness, and people tend to follow popularity and hoopla, but where’s the respect for the others there, man? And if the theme of the entire day was to have Filipino pride and nationalism, where was everyone else when our other fighters were slugging it out in the ring?

I don’t know if it’s being too idealistic, but if you support one member of the Filipino race, then it should go that you support the rest. You can’t practice what you preach about national pride and all of that if all you are doing is supporting one person. You should apply this to everyone, because if we are to get out of the slump, then we should be backing everyone and each other up.

It got me thinking about Manny and the weight he must carry whenever he goes into a boxing ring. He’s fighting with a whole country behind him, and that’s excellent. He hit the big time now he has legions of fans to support him. He is carrying the Filipino flag high whenever he fights. But how about all the other potentially great boxers and athletes for that matter? I’m sure the Filipino flag flies high in their hearts as well, but does anyone else realize that? Do the majority of Pacquiao’s fans realize that Manny must have fought under-card matches like these guys to get to where he is now? I mean these guys are going through the motions as well. They all fought solid matches, and who knows, what if one of them is destined to be our next greatest Filipino boxer? With no one there to support them, how are their talents and efforts ever going to be acknowledged? I think that if more people paid more attention to our other boxers other than Pacquiao, more potential for greatness could be discovered, and honestly, Manny could relax a bit from it all.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that one person can’t carry our flag and our name as a people. I agree that one person could be a figure of nationalism, but seriously, there are about 80 million people in this country and it would be a gargantuan task for only one person to stand up for them. Let’s make life a bit easier for Manny and support the many other deserving athletes of our country.

I commend Pacquiao greatly for what he does in the ring, and outside of it. He truly is an inspiration for many Filipinos. I don’t, however, give any recognition to people who think that just because someone isn’t a celebrity, they don’t deserve to be supported. It’s this kind of mentality that keeps dragging us back to square one. So let’s change things up and live by supporting one another, no matter how little any endeavor may seem to be.

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.