Idol reject

The Pinoy Idol has been rejected by his own.

Thanks to a little post on Facebook, we caught whiff of blogs that talked about how our national boxing “Idol” Manny Pacquiao was reportedly rejected from becoming a member of the Manila Golf Club as well as the Manila Polo Club.

As it turns out, the rejection of Manny Pacquiao has slowly caught fire on the Internet and is gaining coverage among many bloggers.

When I asked a close friend of good standing in golf and polo circles to confirm the matter his response was an immediate: Yes and with finality!

Outside of the blogs and my friend’s confirmation, I have no immediate access to Manila Golf or Manila Polo Club officials to get confirmation. I also doubt if they would be at liberty to divulge what I know is a confidential matter.

The initial response from bloggers was the presumption that some people with extremely upturned noses had simply discriminated against Manny Pacquiao. A few even shared the same opinion saying that the elitists did not care that Pacquiao earned his millions by fighting for his money and not stealing it.

Manny Pacquiao was simply “not welcomed”.

To be fair to the officials of the Manila Golf Club and Manila Polo Club, they are private entities with a set of rules that determine who may or may not gain membership to their exclusive social circle. 

To further bolster that sense of exclusivity, even if membership was decided upon by an entire committee, all they need is one uncomfortable or paranoid member to block an application.

I can only surmise that Manny Pacquiao’s alleged application was rejected on the grounds that he always has an entourage (which is not totally accurate) or that he will certainly cause a disturbance within the quiet confines of snobbishness (I accede to the accuracy of both observations on disturbance and snobbishness).

And so the “Idol” has been rejected. But 30 or 50 years from now, I can’t help but wonder, how future members of both clubs will feel about this decision. Like all great athletes, I am certain that 50 years from now Manny Pacquiao will be larger than life and attain “legendary” status.

By rejecting a legendary athlete, will the decision gain the equal status of legendary stupidity? Only time will tell.

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When I read about Manny Pacquiao’s applications and rejection, my immediate response was: Why even bother? Why spend several millions or a hundred million so you can hang at the Polo Cub or chase a golf ball at Manila Golf?

For many years I have repeatedly pointed out that the most expensive two square kilometers of real estate in the Philippines is also located in what is probably the most toxic and polluted air space in the country.

In relative terms, the Polo Club, Manila Golf and Forbes Park North and South now qualify as “old” and “tired” communities. They have slowly lagged behind today’s better-designed and better-built clubs and communities.

The only thing that they have maintained is the illusion of exclusivity and real estate price. I use the term illusion because unlike the days of old, not everyone is an owner-resident in “Old Forbes”. A lot of the homes are now rented out to corporate or government officials in the same way that a number of memberships are nominated or assigned to the same.

As for price, it is more the scarcity of land that drives the value up rather than the quality and improvements made thereon.

Owners who don’t wish to be saddled with association dues and maintenance have quietly moved to condominiums or smaller full service residences and have left their palatial homes for rent.

In fact some friends who live in “Old Forbes” complain about how things have fallen into disarray such as roads as well as a number of houses no longer being properly maintained. In the old days, the genuine “Old Forbes” residents took particular interest in the upkeep of “everything” in their neighborhood. Not anymore.

A new generation of residents have other priorities and lives that are more office based than focused on the home. Today’s rich no longer ascribe to the saying A man’s castle is his home. Today, it is just a piece of real estate or an investment.

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Considering Manny Pacquiao has enough money to buy or build his own golf course, why settle with membership when you can have ownership of an even better golf course and better quality of members based on character and not on currency?

Given all the beautiful locations north and south of Metro Manila, why play in a cauldron of smog surrounded by people who only enjoy your presence the same way spectators cheered a gladiator in Caligula’s arena?

Instead of spending money in casinos where lady luck mocks and laughs at him, instead of feeding a farm full of second rate feathered warriors, Manny Pacquiao would be better off doing what he does best; proving those who write him off and who reject him as wrong!

He showed us he could be a multi-titled champion; he showed us he had enough business sense to promote himself and make money as an endorser and investor. In spite of an initial loss, he proved that when he sets his mind to it, he could achieve it and thus he became Congressman.

Perhaps now is the time for Manny Pacquiao to build bigger things and have bigger dreams. Don’t settle for membership. Go for ownership. Don’t settle on becoming one among the many. Be a blessing to many. 

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