Good day everyone! Hope everyone is ready for the holidays!
It is hard for Suzy and I to fathom we have been here 3 months already. In addition, its hard to believe its almost December. We are so conditioned by the seasons, that 90 degrees daily has us thinking its still August. I am ready for the State Fair it feels like.
Last week we decided it would be a great cultural experience to go to a big screen and watch local hero Manny Pacquiao fight. The match was just a couple hours away in China and being shown on Sunday morning. Manny is fighting the local version of the IRS on taxes, but otherwise... he is regarded as a national hero. He is a Congressman, boxer, and the locals LOVE him. I talked to a few people and he embodies the spirit of the common Filipino. He grew up dirt poor and was able to make the most of his life. He brings hope.
The day before the fight, Suzy and I went to the cinema to get advanced tickets. One chooses their seats for this so we thought it was a good time. Our jaws dropped when we saw about 100 people in line. "Oh no!" We figured we would never get tickets. Well it wasn't manny people were in line for. I forgot it was Hunger Games 2 time. We were able to procure our seats and be on our way. The poster said 8 am.. Ok... 8 am fight we are there.
Sunday arrives. I am a little groggy because I was up all night following Iowa beating Michigan. Suzy was groggy because Saturday is a tough sleeping day/night for her. She gets home Saturday AM and its tough adjusting. We head to the Cinema for the Sunday fights and NO one is around. Well I look at the ticket and its actually 9 am. GREAT. We then stumble down from the 4th floor (the mall down escalator was off) and head to a coffee shop. A cup of joe later, we wasted time and it was 9 am.
Trip #2 to the cinema still didnt have a lot of people there. Fights were on and the screen had a countdown until Pacquiao/Rios. What it didn't say is that it was the countdown until the PPV began, not the fight. Now, poor Suzy is not a boxing fan. I like it, but she does not. So getting her there for 2-3 fights was going to be a chore, 2-3 fights and then a full undercard... OH my! I owe her big time.
PPV begins finally and we take advantage of freebies. our 700 peso ticket (15 bucks) also got us a hot dog on a stick and a box of milk. We watched the first fight and ate our hot dog and drank cow's milk in a box. The 3rd fight we caught a break as one fighter said his version of "No Mas" after the 3rd round and quit. by the time of the fight before the main event, it was a full house.
Finally, time for Pacquiao v. Rios. First the United States National Anthem was played. We sure felt a sense of pride. Although we were rooting for Pac Man, it is a big deal. Then the Philippines National Anthem was sung... wow, what an experience. It wasn't Jim Cornelison Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but it was cool. People were singing loudly. I could appreciate their pride.
"Let's get ready to Rumblllllllllllllllle!"
The fight itself was fairly anti-climactic. Congressman Pacquiao dominated the whole fight. What was fun was feeling wach punch through the sounds on the screen and the sounds of the crowd. They were over dramatic on each punch. Then came the Chants. "Manny, Manny, Manny!" and "Pac-ee-ow!" That lasted 12 rounds. It was loud.
Finally, after a beat down ... 12 rounds were complete and it was time to get to the scorecards. Manny wins! WHOO HOOO! The crowd went nuts... One lady tried videotaping the screen. It was fun to see an usher swoop in and enforce their strict no video policy. DELETE DELETE DELETE. Whew, because I was going to take a picture of the final results...
The fight was over, it was 1:30 and our nearly 6 hour odyssey had reached its final round. Ding Ding. For a part of the day, I felt as if I was also part of the Filipino spirit. With so much going on... it was nice to see some good news for the people down here.
Take care of yourselves Everyone.
Chuck
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