When Politics Gets In The Way
Bleacher Talk
March 5, 2006
When Politics Gets In The Way
Everything seems to go wrong when politics gets in the way.
When a boxing champ / national hero comes home from a great win, he is honored with a motorcade; and guess who’s waving his hand as if he were the world champion. When the country wins an over-all championship of an international meet, you already know who’ll be at the front of all the celebration, kudos and hoopla.
When the country fails in a sporting event, guess who’s initiating an investigation on the why’s and how’s of the failure, all in the aid of legislation, as if something positive will come out of it. When the country is declared to be in a state of emergency, a historical event for the fastest growing sport is postponed (or is it canceled?).
So if politics and sports don’t mix, whey are so many politicians getting into the sports pages? Many people say that the sight of politicians using sports as a tool for publicity is getting to be a sick practice. But is there something we can do about it? Is it wrong per se? For starters, let’s try to see why they’re doing this (for a change).
It’s widely acknowledged that sports and big winners in sports automatically mean good news for all. And good news in sports naturally brings with it millions of sports fans. And millions of sports fans means more eyes and ears to reach for Mr. Politician.
It’s an age-old practice the world over. As a strategy, riding on the popularity of sports is one of the best ways for politicians to build their image in front of the general public. Sports heroes are idolized to the heavens, and politicians are quick to pounce on the situation to look good, sometimes even looking better than the sports idols right beside them. The sad part of it all is that they’re there to get all the mileage they can get for their political careers.
But are all politicians in sports crooked? Fortunately, the answer is no. Like everything in life, there are a few exceptions to the rule. They are the politicians who recognize the true value of sports. They don’t necessarily hang out with sports heroes and neither do they have their pictures taken whenever our sports idols are around.
They have a clear vision of what they can achieve in sports and what this can do for their hometown and the country. And they work towards achieving this vision. They’ve identified the sports where the Pinoy can excel, and establish youth programs at the grassroots level to widen the base of the country’s future champions. They provide the proper venues for intense training and develop a regular schedule of competitions to further sharpen the young diamonds in the rough. They send coaches abroad for further studies and to learn from the world’s best coaches. When failures beset them, they simply shrug it off, get up and start anew on this path towards their vision. They just won’t give up until the goal is reached. They prefer to be recognized as sportsmen, and even forget that they’re politicians.
Funny it may be, but yes, they’re also politicians.
Look around you and make an assessment of your local politicians. Who’s who among your leaders? Are your leaders using sports as a tool to become more popular? Or are they more concerned with developing the country’s sports heroes of tomorrow?
In the end, politicians will always be politicians. There will be good ones and there will be a bag of rotten eggs. At the end of the day, it will still be up to us fans to decide how to accept them as they are. Will we allow ourselves to be fooled and swayed by the sweet-talking politicos who have nothing to do with sports except to be seen on TV? Or will we learn to appreciate the efforts of those who strive for something noble in sports?
***Time-out: On this first Sunday of Lent, let’s remember that generosity doesn’t mean how much one gives, but how little one leaves for himself. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
March 5, 2006
When Politics Gets In The Way
Everything seems to go wrong when politics gets in the way.
When a boxing champ / national hero comes home from a great win, he is honored with a motorcade; and guess who’s waving his hand as if he were the world champion. When the country wins an over-all championship of an international meet, you already know who’ll be at the front of all the celebration, kudos and hoopla.
When the country fails in a sporting event, guess who’s initiating an investigation on the why’s and how’s of the failure, all in the aid of legislation, as if something positive will come out of it. When the country is declared to be in a state of emergency, a historical event for the fastest growing sport is postponed (or is it canceled?).
So if politics and sports don’t mix, whey are so many politicians getting into the sports pages? Many people say that the sight of politicians using sports as a tool for publicity is getting to be a sick practice. But is there something we can do about it? Is it wrong per se? For starters, let’s try to see why they’re doing this (for a change).
It’s widely acknowledged that sports and big winners in sports automatically mean good news for all. And good news in sports naturally brings with it millions of sports fans. And millions of sports fans means more eyes and ears to reach for Mr. Politician.
It’s an age-old practice the world over. As a strategy, riding on the popularity of sports is one of the best ways for politicians to build their image in front of the general public. Sports heroes are idolized to the heavens, and politicians are quick to pounce on the situation to look good, sometimes even looking better than the sports idols right beside them. The sad part of it all is that they’re there to get all the mileage they can get for their political careers.
But are all politicians in sports crooked? Fortunately, the answer is no. Like everything in life, there are a few exceptions to the rule. They are the politicians who recognize the true value of sports. They don’t necessarily hang out with sports heroes and neither do they have their pictures taken whenever our sports idols are around.
They have a clear vision of what they can achieve in sports and what this can do for their hometown and the country. And they work towards achieving this vision. They’ve identified the sports where the Pinoy can excel, and establish youth programs at the grassroots level to widen the base of the country’s future champions. They provide the proper venues for intense training and develop a regular schedule of competitions to further sharpen the young diamonds in the rough. They send coaches abroad for further studies and to learn from the world’s best coaches. When failures beset them, they simply shrug it off, get up and start anew on this path towards their vision. They just won’t give up until the goal is reached. They prefer to be recognized as sportsmen, and even forget that they’re politicians.
Funny it may be, but yes, they’re also politicians.
Look around you and make an assessment of your local politicians. Who’s who among your leaders? Are your leaders using sports as a tool to become more popular? Or are they more concerned with developing the country’s sports heroes of tomorrow?
In the end, politicians will always be politicians. There will be good ones and there will be a bag of rotten eggs. At the end of the day, it will still be up to us fans to decide how to accept them as they are. Will we allow ourselves to be fooled and swayed by the sweet-talking politicos who have nothing to do with sports except to be seen on TV? Or will we learn to appreciate the efforts of those who strive for something noble in sports?
***Time-out: On this first Sunday of Lent, let’s remember that generosity doesn’t mean how much one gives, but how little one leaves for himself. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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