Let’s do something better for sports in 2012

You’re probably reading this while nursing a gentle hangover from a happy family reunion. Or still recovering from all the traffic you wiggled out of to get to all those Christmas parties.
Your Olympic event known as the Christmas rush is winding down with only a few more officemates and friends that need gifts.
The rest of the Philippine sporting world is on Christmas break along with you. The PBA resumes with its semifinal round on Jan. 4, taking a break from its usual Christmas Day offering. All eyes will be on Powerade and Rain or Shine as they battle to make the finals. Powerade, once known as Coca-Cola, has already tasted league championships while the Elasto Painters have yet to vie for a title. Rain or Shine is part of the Welcoat winning lineage in the old PBL and you can understand the owners aching to continue the tradition in the pro league.
The UAAP volleyball players are back with their families but should resume training after Christmas. In the women’s tourney, La Salle is once again dominant with a winning streak with no near end in sight. The possibility of an Ateneo-La Salle finale looms on the horizon but the Lady Eagles will have to stay resilient in the second round and in the semifinals to make that happen.
The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is off anew as Mayweather has to serve a prison term for the domestic violence. My sense is that we should now ignore this fight for the time being para hindi na maurot (so it doesn’t get stymied anymore).
Sounds better to say it in Filipino because an attempt to put it in English doesn’t sound the same. We keep talking and writing about it because it’s the fight we haven’t seen yet. Maybe by keeping mum it will finally happen.
So while you’re on your couch or bed enjoying the break, consider the following once the new year steps in so that sports for you and the country will be more vibrant.
First, will you finally listen to your better half or doctor to lose some of that excess weight? I know a t-shirt out there declares ang tunay na lalake (o babae) ay may extra rice (a real man or woman has extra rice) but it’s time to find a new athletic goal aside from the occasional badminton, basketball or jog followed by carbo-loading. How about joining the simplest fun run for a cause? That should get you working for a sports target, even if you just walk instead of run. This will be followed by more races once you get the hang of it.
Second, will you finally do something to help sports in our country by supporting a youth league, a player or a team? Or organizing a sports league instead of complaining about how little is done at the grassroots level?
And third, if you are in a position to do so, can you finally do something to the way sports is being managed in this country? Can we at all improve our standing in the medal counts of the SEA Games and the Asian Games? Can we finally win an Olympic gold medal?
There’s really is a lot of sports to think about during the break. Don’t just stare at the ceiling or whoop it up as the TV blurts out a basket by Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant or Dirk Nowitzki in the NBA. Let’s all do something better for sports in 2012.