Shifting Loyalties
I was schooled and raised in loco parentis by the Ateneo de Manila for 12 years, all through grade school and high school. So, when Mabs blogged that it was going to be Ateneo vs La Salle in the Finals, I should've been elated. I'm proud of my personal track record that every single Ateneo - La Salle game I've been to, my alma mater has prevailed, going all the way back to games I watched when I was in high school. And that is without blemish. There was one game back in 2004 where we almost lost but because I was there? We won. (Hehe. Feeling). Also, the one game my blockmates and I watched last year? We won too. Forget Patty Laurel, or Coach Norman Black, or the team's mix of veterans and newbies; I'm the unsung lucky charm of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles.
So, it's probably the fact that we're still reeling from Ateneo's dismal performance last year, or the fact that I know diddly squat about the players of the team now, but I'm not as excited as I hoped I could be. Granted, my loyalty to the big Blue of Katipunan still prevails, but maybe I'm not as ardent a supporter of the rivalry as I should be, or most people are. Those big ass cut outs along the entrance of Gate 2? I could only identify Chris Tiu, and Long (his first name escapes me now). Also, the fact that DLSU is the prevailing champion means that they're in this and will guarantee bloodshed.
I guess I wish I could be more excited, begging people for tickets. Maybe it's the fact that it's coinciding with the last Sunday of BarOps. Maybe it's the fact that UP's dismal record in basketball has made me jaded and bitter. Or maybe I just want Ateneo to win really badly, and I don't want to be disappointed again. The last time they were champions, freshman pa lang ako sa undergrad. Now, as a sophomore in law school, it's the only time they're seriously considered contenders again. I've been hurt before; siguro ayaw ko nang masaktan. (I haven't eaten any meal, whether it's lunch or breakfast as I type this; I attribute this last statement to pure hunger.)
That said, I'll always root for the Eagles, no matter how nameless or anonymous they may seem now. I probably won't cough up, as Bianca pointed out in her post, 10,000 bucks for a ticket, but I'll be cheering them on as we celebrate the bar examinees' finishing the Legal Ethics exam.
So, it's probably the fact that we're still reeling from Ateneo's dismal performance last year, or the fact that I know diddly squat about the players of the team now, but I'm not as excited as I hoped I could be. Granted, my loyalty to the big Blue of Katipunan still prevails, but maybe I'm not as ardent a supporter of the rivalry as I should be, or most people are. Those big ass cut outs along the entrance of Gate 2? I could only identify Chris Tiu, and Long (his first name escapes me now). Also, the fact that DLSU is the prevailing champion means that they're in this and will guarantee bloodshed.
I guess I wish I could be more excited, begging people for tickets. Maybe it's the fact that it's coinciding with the last Sunday of BarOps. Maybe it's the fact that UP's dismal record in basketball has made me jaded and bitter. Or maybe I just want Ateneo to win really badly, and I don't want to be disappointed again. The last time they were champions, freshman pa lang ako sa undergrad. Now, as a sophomore in law school, it's the only time they're seriously considered contenders again. I've been hurt before; siguro ayaw ko nang masaktan. (I haven't eaten any meal, whether it's lunch or breakfast as I type this; I attribute this last statement to pure hunger.)
That said, I'll always root for the Eagles, no matter how nameless or anonymous they may seem now. I probably won't cough up, as Bianca pointed out in her post, 10,000 bucks for a ticket, but I'll be cheering them on as we celebrate the bar examinees' finishing the Legal Ethics exam.