A Cup O’ Kapeng Barako
By Jesse Jose
I watch the London Olympics, do you? It’s thrilling to watch the world’s Olympians in action. It’s awesome to watch them performing in their peaks. It’s touching to see the winners’ bright, happy smiles when receiving their medals … and heartbreaking to see the open tears, flowing on the faces of the losers.
I’ve also watched the opening ceremony, did you?
It was daw a “hilariously quirky Olympic opening ceremony, a wild jumble of the celebratory and the fanciful; the conventional and the eccentric and the frankly off-the-wall….”
That’s true. It was a dizzying spectacle. There was even James Bond himself escorting the Queen in a helicopter ride into the arena, then jumping out in a colorful parachute, from that helicopter when his mission was accomplished. There was Paul McCartney, singing “Hey Jude” and leading the world’s Olympians and spectators in singing that classic song of the Beatles. And altogether, they swayed as one with the swaying tune of the song.
Yes indeed, there was unity … peace and brotherhood that day.
And Britain presented itself to the world as something it has often struggled to express: “a nation,” it was said, ”secure in its post-empire identity.”
Whatever that means, I dunno.
And, if, as New York Times columnist, David Brooks, puts it in his column, the Opening Ceremony “mimics peace,” but the games that follow, ”mimic warfare.” That’s true. Through fierce competition, the games separate the elite from the mediocre. It’s war. It’s country against another country. And in war, heroes are born. In war, the goal is to defeat the enemy. There are 204 countries involved in this war. And about 11,000 combatants.
In war, as in the Olympics, the goal is not to win friendship, but to “demolish the enemy.” And, to win!
And, to get that GOLD! Not the silver. Not the bronze. The Gold! In a competition, there’s only one winner. The silver and bronze medallists are both losers. Their medals are only pangpalubag-loob for their ferocious, but lost fight, against the true winner, the gold medallist. The Gold medallist reigns supreme.
NINE GOLD MEDALS FOR CHINA: As I write this, three Asian countries are among in the top of the list who have who have won medals. Gold medals, that is. China has gotten the most, with nine. South Korea, two. And Japan, one.
What have the athletes of the Motherland won so far? I haven’t even heard any mention of any of them, competing in any games … and I think that’s pathetic. Kulelat na naman ba tayo? I thought the Filipinos are “angat sa mundo”? That’s what we keep on saying and singing and screaming to the world.
It would have been a good time — the perfect time – to show the world that the Filipino is “angat sa mundo.”
Oh, well, how deep is the (Philippine) well? So shallow naman. Mas malalim pa ang baha….
OPENING CEREMONY: In the opening ceremony, I waited patiently for the Philippine contingent to appear. I wanted to see the Motherland’s athletes, how they look and how they would prance and dance, and proudly wave the bandila. When the narrator of the ceremony started naming and presenting the countries that begin with the letter “P,” I stood up and walked close to the TV screen, to see our own kababayan athletes better and to yell a cheer for them.
Finally they came on. Now, you see ‘em, now you don’t. For three seconds flat, a couple of athletes representing the Motherland were seen on camera. I saw the flag being waved weakly by a kababayan, wearing a poorly-designed BarongTagalog, with a salakot on his/her head.
At nakasimangot pa.
I couldn’t even tell if the flag bearer was a he or a she. When I googled it, I found out the bearer’s name was Hidilyn Diaz, a she. And a 21-year-old weightlifter daw. She should’ve waved that flag strongly, proudly and happily. But she did not. There were eleven Philippine athletes daw, but these eleven were not captured by the camera that I saw on TV.
Yes, now you see ‘em, now you don’t. That’s how the Opening Ceremony presented the Philippine contingent. How disappointing. The narrator of the ceremony mentioned the name of Pakyaw though. But what’s Pakyaw name got to do with the Olympics? He was not even a competitor.
BARONG AND SALAKOT: Also, why the Barong and the Salakot? The Barong is a formal wear, worn usually in important social or official functions. And the Salakot is worn while tilling the land in the rice fields, under the hot, blazing sun. To me, that’s an odd combination of clothings to wear in presenting the Philippines. I am at a lost as to the symbolism of this oddly-paired attire to present to a world-wide audience.
Bonga ka, ‘Day, they were not.
It was a drab attire, I think, and as I said, poorly-designed, compared to the attires that the other group of Olympians of other countries, had worn. They all looked resplendent, their attires, I heard, designed either by Armani or by Ralph Lauren … and check this out: Made in China, too!
Whereas, the Pinoys’ attire, looked pathetic, made daw in the Philippines! That’s what I saw. I didn’t make that up. I am not “Mitt, the Twit.” (Y’all know why Mitt Romney was called a “twit” by the Brits, when he was in London, right?)
Oh well, how deep is the tweeting well? Tweet it ngarud, Dear Readers. JJ
China got most of the gold that means they are now a powerful country. Thanks to you all consumers around the world specially America.
Roy, Pareng Jesse was right. You can’t judge a country base solely on how they are amassing medals in an Olympic games. Look at the Soviet Union, for a long time they are the dominant medal winners in almost all the Olympic games and look what happen to them. China, just like the old USSR, start grooming their athletes at a very young age, forcing them to undergo severe training regimen that by the time they are old enough to compete their mind and body are so well conditioned for one purpose, and that’s to win. I suggest you do some research on how the Chinese prepare their athletes for these games. You’ll be surprise.
Hello Roy,
Salamat sa comment mo. Winning gold medals in the Olympics doesn’t mean that that country winning most of the medals, IS a powerful country. But it seems that it looks that way. So, you’re right. The athletes of the good old USA used to amass the most gold medals. Now, it’s the athletes from China.
Kaya, walang laban tayong mga Pinoy sa mga Intsik in the current territorial dispute of the Spratly Islands. Putong-puto lang tayo. Dito na lang sa Olympics, eh putong-puto ang mga Pinoy, sa tunay pa kayang bakbakan against the Chinese? Not even one Filipino athlete has qualified to compete in any of the games.
Where are those Filipino “world champions” that TFC keep saying the Philippines have? Naging mga PUTO na rin ba sa Olympics?
Tayong mga Pilipino, laging na lang kulelat kahit saan. Sa Olympics ng PATAASAN NG IHI and in consuming San Miguel, perhaps we win the most gold medals. But in other things, mga puto tayo.
O sige na, Roy. Once again, salamat sa comment mo. Swerte ko, may isang nag-comment dito sa istorya ko. LOL.
Pareng Jesse, kamusta na? Tumaas na naman ba ang blood pressure mo? Easy ka lang at baka mawalan ako ng kakampi dito sa Global Balita. During the Olympic opening ceremony, when all countries are being presented with their athletes marching down ever so proudly, I was so anxious to see our own country, I could not believe my eyes when I saw that out of almost 100 million people, our country only had 11 athletes to compete. I guess the only way we can win a medal is if they added new games, like graft and corruption, carnapping, election rigging, piko and patentero. Sa mga games na yan siguradong gold medals ang iuuwi ng mga athletes natin. Si Pnoy and coach, si GMA ang assistant coah. Puwede na di ba?
Katotong Noah,
LOL. Tumbang preso ang laro ko. Pwede kaya yan sa Olympics?
Tama ka, tumaas nga ang BP ko. The pill I was taking, eh expired na pala. Kaya, wala ng bisa. I have to go to the VA and tell my PC about it. And I’ll probably kick his butt, too, for prescribing me meds that ain’t worth a shit. I also have to tell him to increase the strenght of my Levitra. No good na rin. Dahil LIMP pa rin ang epekto.
O sige na, salamat sa comments mo. Naka-dalawa na ‘ko ng comments dito sa istorya ko. Wowoweee!
Olympic is not about participating anymore,it is about winning a medal and nothing else. Philippines should stop going to the Olympics and disgrace there country,instead start to work in finding an athlete from every villages or cities in the country and spend more in traing and raising them until they can come close to winning a medal.Every country are doing this and Philippines should do the same.
Badbeat17, the Olympic is about participating and winning. Only the best of the best gets to make it to these games that’s why the process of selecting who would represent their country is very competitive. How do you expect a country like ours to produce competitive athletes when our government are too damn cheap to provide funds to properly train our athletes, yet they don’t mind offering great incentives to those that will bring home a medal, any medal. The US have their dream team, mostly NBA stars. What can’t we have a bangungot team, you know those PBA stars.