Holidays, sports and leisure

I missed the culmination of the 2002 PBA-All Filipino Cup. I left the country to spend the holidays with family abroad. I knew it was going to be an exciting year-ender for the PBA. Imagine a finals game on Christmas day – a first in PBA history! And then there was the Annual Awards. I just had to leave when a lot of things were happening. But that’s the way it is; like for most Filipinos, family takes priority.

Fortunately, while I missed the Christmas game day in the PBA, I was treated to a white Christmas in California along with other Los Angeles locals. It doesn’t snow in Los Angeles but the Staples Center looked all white and ready for the special holiday as NBA defending champs donned their new white jerseys as they faced their archrival, Sacramento Kings, last Dec. 25.

It was a much anticipated Christmas double header as it started with the game between the Boston Celtics and the New Jersey Nets, last season’s protagonists in the Eastern Conference Finals; followed by the highly-awaited face-off between Lakers and Kings. The match-up was highly anticipated because of the pre-season scuffle that happened between the Lakers’ Rick Fox and Kings’ Doug Christie. Laker fans nicknamed the Kings "Sacramento Queens." But they were humbled and started leaving the venue quietly after Shaq, Kobe, and the rest of the team bowed down to Bibby, Webber and Stojakovic.

It’s a good thing Shaq and the rest of the team bounced back to log a two-game win streak, beating the Denver Nuggets last Dec. 28 and the Toronto Raptors the following day.

Dec. 31 was ice-skating day for this writer. I tried out ice-skating at the Rink, Rockefeller Center in New York. I remember watching Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding go at it in several skating events, and how they made moving on ice look so easy. Of course their rivalry was made more interesting as a guy who whacked Kerrigan on her legs confessed that it was Harding’s husband who asked him to do it. It was a celebrated rivalry in the rink. But people knew Kerrigan was the better skater that’s why Harding was always jealous. I liked both of them and enjoyed watching them beat each other with elaborate moves and routines.

Regarding my skating experience however, it was 45 minutes of struggling to move, balancing and falling over to get back up again. So much for my dream of one day doing the Pamchenko Twist, or dancing on ice ala-Michelle Kwan. Now I have greater pride and admiration for figure skaters. More for our own young Filipino skaters who continue to place in Asian competition even if we only have one ice skating rink in the whole Philippines to practice on.

Nonetheless, I had so much fun! But that wasn’t the highlight of the day. The best part was staying out in the cold for six hours to await the famous ball-drop at the stroke of 12 over at Times Square Street. It was nice watching it on television but there’s nothing like experiencing the real thing and sharing the experience with about 2 million people from all over the United States. I also got to talk to some foreigners who came from London only to witness the famous ball-drop. And as confetti rained on Manhattan, football fans started to prepare for something else.

Jan. 1 marked the start of the Bowl Championship Series. It was established before the 1998 football regular season to determine the national champs in the sport. It’s a sporting event a lot of football fans await each year, consisting of four parts – the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl, and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Rose Bowl takes place in Pasadena, California after the colorful Rose Parade. I went to Pasadena to witness the tournament of roses two years ago and saw the beautiful floats that joined the parade. It reminds one of the gorgeous parade of flowers that happens in Baguio each year. But what’s striking is the enthusiasm that permeates the air as fans get ready to support and cheer for their teams in the Rose Bowl. This year the Oklahoma Sooners, led by seniors Quintin Griffin and Nate Hybl, punished the Washington State Cougars with a 34-14 victory.

Georgia beat Florida State, 26-13, at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The Orange Bowl kicked off last Jan. 2 in Florida and saw the USC Trojans lord it over the Iowa Hawkeyes, 38-17. The attack was led by Carson Palmer, USC’s Heisman winner who is heralded for putting a stop to the drought in the West. For so many years, Heisman winners have only come from the east. On Iowa’s part, Heisman runnerup Wayne Drehs failed to put up a good showdown.

Another interesting thing happened during the Trojans’ training Saturday before their big game. Infamous O.J. Simpson visited his alma matter for the first time after eight years, mingled with players, gave his autograph and posed for pictures.

The National Championship was held last Jan. 3 at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. Ohio State sealed it’s first national title since 1968 against Miami.

So many things happening in Manila when I left. But there’s so much more happening here in the other side of the world. And even as I take a holiday break, I realize that there’s no escaping sports.

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