Bravo Manny!!!

manny

You may not agree with the sport of boxing, what with folks pummelling each others brains out until some of them retire with permanent cranial damage, but hey, it’s still legal… And for some reason, Filipinos along with Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and other previous Spanish colonies with traditionally high birth rates seem to excel at it… So CONGRATULATIONS Manny Pacquiao on your stunning win over Oscar de la Hoya (who made twice as much money?), you are a very bright light in a relatively dim year. Your incredible dedication to excellence in your chosen field is something all Filipinos should aspire to. Bravo!

But really, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, did you really have to go replace the birth day of Jesus with Manny on your front page photo/headline combination? Am I the only one who flinched when I got the paper this morning? Or am I reading too much into this, double entendre of photo with arms in the air and headline combined? Or have I still not recovered from an equally inappropriate recent headline of the Inquirer that read “A Black in the White House”…???

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41 Responses

  1. Bravo indeed! He’s being handled very very well by Freddie Roach, let’s not forget that. Hope he doesn’t fall in the wayside as Bad Boy from Dadiangas did (his name escapes me at the moment).

  2. Haha, as much as I was ecstatic about Manny’s win – I also flinched at the Inquirer headline :) My first thought was, couldnt these people think of a better headline?

  3. Yes, MM. I also thought the headline “A Black in the White House” was very inappropriate. The PDI should have known better. It smacked of racism. To paraphrase Meryl Streep, why dont they just say the best man in the White House? And yes, I also flinched when I got a copy of this morning’s issue.

  4. This guys just think about selling the paper….It is indeed a remarkable win and a surely a defining moments for the filipinos but to equate it with Christmas day…I don’t think so!

  5. A Black In The White House???? Maybe they thought they were being (unsuccessfully) witty. Now I remember why I don’t buy PDI anymore.

    I’m happy for the Pacquiao win, but did he have to thank Chavit and all those politicians in front of the whole world? It was one sour note during such a sweet sweet victory.

  6. Pacman is awesome! But there came a point in his last two matches that I start to feel pity for his opponents. David Diaz and Dela Hoya were really beaten senseless from the hand speed and power of Pacquiao.
    On a lighter note, there is a marked improvement in how Manny answers the post fight interviews in English. He progressed from his usual “you know” and has improved with lines such as “like what I said.” He even corrected himself when after he said “thanks God” he quickly said “thank God.” A marked improvement in his fighting and English skills show that Manny Pacquiao is a gifted Pinoy. I just hope all the leeches surrounding him will not suck him dry. Why do they all have to climb up the ring?

  7. A Black In The White House???? Maybe they thought they were being (unsuccessfully) witty. Now, Christmas Day. I remember why I don’t buy PDI anymore… Online news is so much more well-written.

    https://www.latimes.com/la-spw-boxing8-2008dec08,0,5651849.story
    https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article5301221.ece
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/7769749.stm
    https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/sports/othersports/07boxing.html?_r=1
    https://sports.yahoo.com/box

    I’m happy for the Pacquiao win, but did he have to thank Chavit and all those politicians in front of the whole world? It was one sour note during such a sweet sweet victory.

  8. It was a good fight,I hope he is is carefull with his money.Manny watch those people around you. Learn from Mike Tyson’s fall from grace.

  9. Re: It’s Christmas Day – I’ve no problem with it. It’s a pretty common thing to say when something really great happens. It’s like when your boss pulls you aside in mid-August and tells you that he’s giving you a 20% raise, you exclaim, “Holy cow, it’s Christmas!”

    Re: A Black in the White House? – If that had been the banner headline in an American newspaper, I’d say it’s very racist, indeed. However, I’d give PDI the benefit of the doubt. The front page editor was probably just suffering from a woeful lack of idiomatic English knowledge and of cultural sensitivity.

  10. I didn’t see a copy of the paper myself, but now that you mention it the whole Manny = Jesus Christ (i.e. both shirtless with their arms outstretched) is ridiculously tasteless. Although in church and sports worshiping Philippines, I’m not so sure it’s totally outlandish either.

  11. Well, he WAS shirtless and raising both arms is a pretty universal pose.
    It’s not like he’s the first one to ever do that pose. Tasteless? Taste is relative I guess.
    I liked that cover.

    The Nike Pacquiao poster along EDSA i think had more religious undertones. I’m not a religious guy, but i liked that photo too.

    Leo

  12. I was surprised that he won, since I figured an older de la Hoya would win in the end. I think Oscar got a better monetary deal since it was his people who planned the fight from way back, particularly the dividends from the ppv returns. I recall a friend in the US explaining how no matter what the end result was, Oscar was the winner, since he got a bigger share of the pie. Sort of his version of a golden parachute (hmmm, maybe the US Congress should have all the bankers and detroit executives duke it out for the billions in bailout money. Nah, they’re way too flabby and white.).

  13. I saw photos of Manny Pacquiao beside Oscar Dela Hoya and thought that Manny sure looks like a contrabida. I also read that win or lose Manny only gets USD$11 million while Dela Hoya gets twice that amount. Minus taxes and Philippine expenses (i.e. balato) when Manny gets back, I do hope he gets his well-deserved share of the prize money.

  14. I agree, I didn’t like the A Black in the White House headline, either. Excited pa naman sana ako to keep the newspaper as a souvenir of such a stunning event, pero ngeh ang Inquirer.

  15. Another way of looking at the PDI headline is Pacquiao claiming “its Christmas Day” for him. After all, He earned 30.6 Million Pesos for every minute he stood in the ring (While the Golden Boy de la Hoya, earned twice as much).

    hmmmm…….would anyone be willing to be in de la hoya’s shoes if you were guaranteed the same amount of money for the same kind of beating from Pacman?

  16. What really made me cringe was seeing our Vice-President jockeying to get his face on tv.

    I hope Pacquiao steers clear of politics. No sense in his rising to a level of incompetence. What he could do is give talks all over the country about striving for excellence, hard work and discipline.

  17. GJN…I second!!! Every Politician around him is suspect that they all wanted the photo op for their own political purpose.

  18. I agree with fried-neurons, nothing offensive about the headline. What is offensive are all those politicians who wanted to get airtime and some potential goodwill from being seen with Manny.

    On the fight itself, I hope people don’t take anything away from Manny’s win by saying Oscar is over the hill. He made it happen by swarming a long range classic boxer like Oscar. It was amazing how he was darting in and out and exploiting the proper angles. It looked easy because they did all the hard work even before the fight started. I’m looking forward to the Hatton fight – although Manny’s promoters should think twice about fighting in a Welsh-packed venue.

  19. Hi MM

    It was very good to meet you briefly on Saturday.

    I thought it a great photo with a slightly inappropriate headline but hey what a fighter the man is! I have watched boxing for many years and can rarely remember such a dynamic boxer. Not so long ago he was praised for his unflinching style and raw power. Against La Hoya he gave instead a composed masterclass in pure boxing technique.

    Politicians are the same the world over – an overseas jolly and the opportunity to bask in reflected glory is something that few seem able to turn down. Can’t blame Manny for his comments (giving thanks to the Politicos) in his ‘heat of the moment’ post fight ringside interview. He had all that adrenaline coursing through him AND, let’s be honest, he has to play the politician himself as well.

    Made for a great weekend though.

    Tups, don’t want to be picky but Hatton is English. You are right though, Hatton will be backed by hugely vociferous and commited male support if they fight in the UK. A very very different experience to the Vegas promotions. Better to bring it here!

  20. I thought I was the only one who cringed on the “A Black in the White House” PDI headline. I really thought that no matter what we say, Filipinos are either latent racist or just ignorant of the world around us. Take for example a Filipina officemate who just recently got engaged to a British businessman. While having a drink with them in a hotel, she pointed to a black man sitting on the other table. She was actually admiring the black man’s features but she said, That nigger is very handsome”. Ha! So I and her British husband-to-be gave her a lesson in American racial history and political correctness. We told her that the ‘n’ word is never uttered–no matter where you are, where you are from. And the provincial lass just gave us her “what-are-these-guys-talking-about-but-I-heard-the-word-in-the-movie” innocent look.

  21. Pleased and proud over Pacquiao! It might be accurate that dela Hoya went home with a bigger loot, but he certainly didn’t win the honor and the prestige. He won as a businessman, but not as a boxer and athlete.

    Now, as for those politicos who jetted over to Vegas – who’s footing your bills? Is it too naive to wish that not one dime of our taxes was used? I’m just happy that people are actually disgusted to see those faces alongside Manny’s, a true PR backfire! And that’s practically every Filipino viewer, rich or poor, who caught the match. We know a goodwill freeloader when we see one.

  22. Didn’t see that headline- I don’t buy PDI anymore because I don’t read tabloids. It’s a pity because their editorial section is so much better than the other newspapers but it seems they consider the front page as part of the editorial as well.

  23. I am very happy that Pacquiao won he is a great boxer and is still in the sport becuase he loves it. Now for De la Hoya he should come to terms that his boxing career is over. Yes I know when he was in his prime he was the best but it is now time for him to dedicate his time to become a better buisnessman and leave the boxing to the boxers.

  24. I honestly thought the same thing as the headline when I heard Manny won, because I know alot of people will really be having a merry christmas from their winnings plus to add the balato from Manny, and the filipino pride we get. To celebrate the win like its “xmas” but thats just me.
    About the Obama headline, is it the usage word “black” that makes you cringe? or probably the whole black and white joke. The use of the word “black” to describe people of african-american descent I believe is not really being racist. I know that it is an acceptable and interchangeable with the term “african-american”. Even Time magazine used it to question if Mr. Obama was “Black enough” and even Mr. Obama calls himself “black” or “african-american”.

    Now to say that “Filipinos are either latent racist or just ignorant of the world around us” is well… generalizing?

  25. I guess to avoid confusion, or misinterpretation, I should have written that they consider the front page as part of the Opinion pages as well, instead of the editorial. As “editorial” may also refer to all parts of the newspaper that are not advertising.

  26. BigGame James, it’s not so much calling President Obama black, which he is, but to use the race of the winner to describe him. After all, would the Inquirer write WHITE IN THE WHITE HOUSE had McCain won? It’s not the race of the winner that is the primary issue. And yes, the juxtaposition of black and white falls flat for me. It’s the same reason some folks take exception to the Inquirer, and other newspapers saying “Muslim or Moslem terrorists” to describe bombings or activities in the Southern Philippines…Rarely will you read in the press the term communist terrorists, or Hindu terrorists or Catholic terrorists for that matter… and there are probably some of those as well, no? They are terrorists, period. An yes to the generalization issue…

  27. Hmmm..on the other side,there were very few posts yesterday on Market Manila during the live and delayed telecasts of Pacman..and I thought…hmmmm..everyone’s watching the bout. Yup…congratulations Pacman!! You make us proud!!

  28. I stopped buying newspapers 4 years ago. Writing sucks! Maybe, the good writers have died, retired or resigned and migrated. Apparently, Manny is enrolled in Notre Dame University in Cotabato…which is good. I hear he is preparing to go into politics after retirement…that’s he thanked his future buddies…the congressmen and mayors. Anyway, it was a good fight and Manny prepared himself well. Congrats!

  29. I found nothing wrong with either headline. The exhilaration and cheer everyone felt on Sunday when Manny won really did make it feel like Christmas. And as for Obama? His victory is so groundbreaking BECAUSE he is black. It’s not news that he is young, or brilliant, or a Democrat, that has all happened before. But to have a black man in America’s highest office? That is a source of pride not only for African-Americans, but for ALL Americans, if not the world. It is precisely the “juxtaposition of black and white” that makes it so powerful! To boldly declare his race only makes Obama’s victory seem greater.

    Would anyone feel offended at Manny being called a “Filipino” boxer? His race and nationality are our source of pride too.

  30. Corrine, i guess that explains why Manny’s conversational english has gotten better and better. With all the money he’s winning, good thing he’s also getting an education. Hope he spends it wisely and not dole it out to the freeloading politicians on his corner. I still subscribe and read my local newspaper every night, even if i can get the news online. Mostly for local news and to help the local economy. Secondly, it makes me fall asleep ;-)

  31. Adam, thanks for the correction, you aren’t being picky since it goes beyond political correctness. I’ve heard Welsh pool players insist on being called such instead of being referred to as English. I got him confused with Joe Calzaghe.

  32. what an athlete–my friends and i have followed his career since he was a flyweight..now he is such a Mexicutioner! the last two fights, we had a potluck party..we were a rowdy crowd!!!

    what’s next for de la Hoya?? maybe a stint at ‘dancing with the stars’—some of the “stars” in that show have exceeded their shelf-life. hee….but with all those millions, he won’t need extra exposure.

  33. its their lack of creativity that pisses people for the most part…if you watched the local telecast of the bout, the commentator did say something to that note at least three or four times.they are writers, they should be creative enough to write something original.I enjoyed the bout..i was rather shocked to see dela hoya as purple as an eggplant.I cant wait to watch Hatton-Pacquiao fight.That should be interesting..

  34. Re Obama’s election, yes, it can be said that it is groundbreaking that a black man was elected president. But that may be a somewhat backward way to view things. The real progress in that event is not that he is black but that the color of his skin did not matter at all. Race did not matter. And by playing up the juxtaposition of black man and white house, they have succeeded in cheapening the very thing that they were trying celebrate. It’s not offensive by any measure, just unfortunate.

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