The Weekend Without Pictures

What a boring weekend it has been. We were supposed to go to Apo Island on Sunday but it got postponed at the last minute so I was left without a plan. I decided to go to the mall to splurge the budget I allotted for the trip on Christmas gifts for the people on my gift list. Yes, as early as now, I'm already doing my Christmas shopping so that I do not have to blow my entire Christmas bonus on gifts. So I went out. And out was like the aftermath of the apocalypse minus the debris and filth that it usually comes with in the movies.

It was the Sunday that Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to fight whatshisname Margarito. A Mexican. Another one who, I was sure, will be added to the long list of Mexican casualties that Manny was responsible for. But to be honest, I'm not comfortable watching a Manny Pacquiao fight unless I already knew that he'd won. I avoided watching the live telecasts as much as possible. It's not that I have no faith in Manny's ability to win his fights. Obviously, his record speaks for itself. It's a superstition I have. I'm afraid that if I watch his bout live, the cosmos will play a cruel joke on me and make him lose. I know, it doesn't make any sense. First of all, I am not superstitious. Second of all, I am an insignificant person, just one out of the billions in this world. Why would the universe single me out for punishment? Third of all, there are millions of people all over the world watching Manny's fight. Heck, there could be creatures from the outer space watching Manny's fight. Why would he lose because I was watching? It makes no sense whatsoever but I am crazy that way.

Of course, as expected, Manny won. He is not one to disappoint. He beat the living crap out of Margarito who looked like he just came out of  a major facial surgery gone horribly wrong. Manny, on the other hand, looked like he could still shoot a movie afterwards, as Janica put it. Or appear on a congress hearing. Or sing on his concert. Or guest on Oprah. Ah, the many facets of Manny Pacquiao. If that is not genius then that's an over-abundance of chutzpah, which is not a bad thing. Filipinos everywhere were proud to be Filipinos. Crime rate almost zero. No traffic. Ceasefire between the military and the rebels. It's almost unbelievable.

The pride of the Philippines. A real modern day hero. I'm so proud of him because I'm Filipino and he is Filipino. Him winning is like giving a finger to everyone in the First World. I remembered another Pacquiao fight which I watched live in the Waterfront because my then boyfriend was a fan and was adamant about watching him live on a big screen. It was against Hatton. I was so afraid he would lose. Hatton was bigger and it was Manny's first fight in that weight division. A lot of people were saying that he needed to get lucky in order to win.Needless to say, the Waterfront was swarming with people. Nobody could hear the commentators on screen because of all the cheering. But it was great. It was communal experience at it's best. And when Manny knocked Hatton out, I wanted to shout, "Take that, you white ape! You arrogant piece of tae from a rich country!" I was ecstatic. But at the same time, I was bewildered. "That's it? That's all Hatton got? He got knocked down on the second round? How can that be? The odds were against Manny. Everyone had been forecasting a difficult fight for Manny. Nobody ever dreamed of a second round knock out. Did Hatton really prepare for the fight or did he think that he didn't need to because he can take on the Pacman easily? This is an insult!" I was indignant. I was probably more insulted than Manny was. I was frothing at the mouth with indignation while the whole Philippines was jumping up and down and never been happier to be Filipino. Which is not to say that Manny won because he is Filipino. Noooo. He won because he is Manny Pacquiao. If he were Italian he'd still beat the living daylights out of his opponents because... he is Manny Pacquiao. Being a Filipino has got nothing to do with it. His victories were brought about by his determination, his perseverance and his intelligence inside the ring. He may claim his victory to be the victory of every Filipino and we Filipinos may claim his victory to be ours. But the truth is, his victory is his alone. We are but a witness to his greatness and legacy. There are about 90 million other Filipinos. If he won because of his citizenship, why is there no one else like Manny Pacquiao? Or Charice Pempengco for that matter?

So this in not entirely a weekend without pictures because in closing, I would like to  post this picture of the champ:

photo credit

Let that face be warning enough. I pity all those Mexicans who fought and will fight him. They were all a bunch of pretty looking boys. The difference in the level of gorgeousness is like heaven and hell. Mexicans, heaven. Manny, hell. But at the end of every fight they always end up looking worse than Manny. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You Mexican boys never learn.