WHEN RING announcer Jimmy Lennon of “Showtime” did the introductions for the WBO welterweight title fight of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao against former three-time world champion Shane Mosley, we were thrilled to see the prominence given to Smart Telecommunications which included its logo on the ring canvas as part of a sponsorship package.
It wasn’t essentially a commercial proposition of considerable cost because Smart is not a player in the highly competitive United States telecom market. Rather it was a significant statement of how much Smart recognizes the achievements of perhaps the greatest fighter of all time.
It’s not enough that thousands of Filipinos and Fil-Americans follow Pacquiao wherever he goes, carrying placards extolling his virtues and his achievements and shouting out the name of a genuine Philippine sports hero.
It’s incumbent for our leaders in business and industry to demonstrate their support for a Filipino icon.
The Smart presence sent a message to the world that there is a company in the Philippines that knows how to honor its supreme achievers. Smart itself is a symbol of the success of a supreme achiever in business—the esteemed businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan, whose unbridled passion for sports stands as a beacon in these times of petty bickering and the distressing intrusion of politics into sports.
Pangilinan’s support for Pacquiao earned Smart nothing really in terms of financial returns.
The goodwill generated by that gesture, though, and the inherent recognition of a leading business conglomerate standing side by side with the giants of American television is honor enough for our country.
We often see how extensively Mexican brands such as Corona and Tecate advertise in international boxing championships and make viewers and the in-venue crowds appreciate their support and presence.
Smart did no less.
It is even more significant because the consensus today is that the most exciting fighters in the world are Mexicans and Filipinos. By its presence, Smart demonstrated that our leaders in business stand by the champions of our country.
This is the attitude that should govern our thinking on a broader scale. It shows a togetherness that is a true manifestation of nationhood and strengthens the core values that shape the character of our athletes and in turn help strengthen the character of our nation and people.
Manny Pacquiao is a true symbol of the best in the Filipino. His decency and respect toward his opponents and his unmatched humility, in and outside the ring, are virtues that we are sure Smart wishes to be identified with as a service-oriented telecommunications company.
Manny is a giant and a crossover superstar in the world of sports, entertainment and developing business. Smart is also a giant in business, and its desire to identify its services with fairness and humility alongside Pacquiao makes a perfect match and a terrific twosome of which every single Filipino should be justly proud.