PH Olympians need our total support

IT WOULD be unfair and down-right unpatriotic to simply ignore the Olympic bids of the Filipino athletes going to London this July.

The delegation was rightfully treated to a formal send-off this week at Blue Leaf in Taguig City. It is a small Philippine team of 11 athletes in boxing, athletics, archery, swimming, weightlifting, judo, BMX cycling and shooting.

President Aquino’s marching orders were to “surprise the world,” a hopeful message that is both pep talk and a reminder of the odds our athletes will again face in the biggest sports extravaganza created by the human race.

True, they will be going up against the very best of the world and for many of them, it will be a short Olympics. Many of their more seasoned opponents will move deeper into the later rounds of their disciplines.

We will be reminded anew of the sad but true reality that many athletes are better trained and prepared for the Olympics and how far behind we are in our sports development.

At times, our pride will be scathed even more as countries we used to trounce in the Southeast Asian region are now finding it easier to beat us.

So be it: Let one more Olympics be another installment to our growing collection of lessons on trying to stay in step with the sporting world. Let us again come to terms that our sporting culture and our economy are still not at par with a world that is already reinventing many sports development models.

But all is not bleak and gloomy as our team marches in another Olympics. The Games are a constant reminder that hope springs eternal for countries of all sizes, economies and athletic skills.

If small African countries can win in athletics, so can smaller Asian countries.  If the United States and European countries dominate sports that put a premium on height and heft, then countries that have people with smaller body frames can win in sports with weight classifications.

The Olympic flame (very often wrongly referred to as a “torch” when we try to reenact the rite in our own sports openings) is a fitting reminder that all countries have hope and a chance when the world comes together for sports.

Powerful economies may rule the medal standings but nothing will be able to measure the pride of an athlete of a country with less financial clout wearing his or her national colors.

The Filipino athletes will fly as far as their wings will take them. They deserve our time when their feats are reported in the sports pages or seen on TV or the Internet. We should feel immense pride to see a Filipino on a world stage. He or she may not conquer or last long but our flag was there on their uniforms, representing all of us.

After the Games, we can argue back and forth about what should be done for sports. Maybe in the future we will fare better in international sports battles when our economy and sports infrastructures will be ready to really take on the best of the world.

Then, we won’t be talking or writing about a small contingent taking on the huge challenges of the Olympics.

But when the London Olympics unfurl and the Filipino athletes play for us, our role is to watch and be supportive. Our athletes may be mere names and numbers for the organizers in London but they are our names and numbers.