“The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood , who strives valiantly and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
- Teddy Roosevelt
It’s senseless to wait for Sunday afternoon to write my customary paean for Pacquiao. At this point in his career, his stature as Filipino sports immortal is secure. His greatness no longer depends on victory or defeat. If he loses by KO, it will be dramatic tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. If he wins, his legend grows tenfold. Either way, his exploits on Sunday in Las Vegas will be seen in divine herculean context.
I watched the GMA television special “Team Pacquiao” last Sunday. Poignantly narrated by poet and Radioactive Sago Project frontman Lourd de Veyra armed with a script peppered with dry wit, “Team Pacquiao” candidly enumerates Manny’s coterie; the trainer, cook, executive assistant, business manager, pr man, career adviser, mother and wife.
The TV special addresses varied questions surrounding the men and women who surround The Man. Whether some characters are seen as unsavory is beside the point. What matters is that each member of Team Pacquiao has a role to play. As the GMA television special pointed out, even Judas had a role to play in Team Jesus Christ. Since the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts, personal agendas can be tolerated and maybe even utilized for the greater good of the endeavor.
Try to look at it this way; In a commercial context, Pacquiao is also a powerful brand. Nowadays, he’s swiftly turning into a global brand. In this sense, Pacquiao is not so different from PLDT or San Miguel. He is his own corporation. And since few things on this earth are accomplished single-handedly Pacquiao Inc., to strengthen its rising stock, really needs to be a team effort.
Media scholar Kenneth Gergen says one individual can take on multiple personalities in the digital age. Gergen says the new individual is a restless “postmodern being”. Pacquiao is a knockout example as he is boxing champion, product endorser, father, son, husband, sports icon, international sensation, aspiring politician, symbol of hope, paragon of machismo, magnet for controversy and icon for national heroism all rolled into one. His crest is emblazoned on shoes, shirts and jackets. His name is plastered alongside the biggest corporate brands. To manage all of Pacquiao’s postmodern humanity, he surely needs a team as diverse and as ambitious as he is.
At the core of this multitasking superhuman, however, is a fighting heart. That’s the microchip that keeps the winning enterprise going. Filipinos, and more and more international fans, gravitate towards Pacquiao due to a more visceral, non-commercial, appeal.
It’s not about Team Pacquiao, his endorsements, political aspirations or the lavish party for baby Queen Elizabeth. People believe in the Pacquiao legend because it is built on dust, sweat and blood. The dream was born on the gritty roads of far-flung towns and poorly-lit gyms. Manny’s original motivation to win is as genuine and unmistakable as a Pacquiao left hook unleashed in the name of survival. This authenticity ensures his legend will stand the test of time.
So whatever Pacquiao builds (or destroys) with the billions of pesos he has earned from boxing, it will only serve as the epilogue, not the main act. It’s the main act that people will remember. After Manny’s done chasing his political dreams with the same pugilistic fervor, people probably won’t recall Manny the congressman (or heaven forbid Manny the ultimate cautionary tale) the way they will preserve memories of Manny the gloved-conqueror many years from now.
When legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice described Babe Ruth in superlative terms in a 1948 newspaper column, he might as well have been describing Pacquiao The Great: No game will ever see his like, his equal again. He was one in many, many lifetimes. One all alone. MH
Limited-Edition Team Pacquiao Tees are already available in Nike stores. Only 20 People’s Champ Windrunners and limited pairs of the the Nike Trainer 1 will be sold in the Philippines starting May 2, 12:00 noon, at the Manny Pacquiao pop-up store in Bonifacio High Street.
