goal

The Philippines is not really into sports. Well to put is more clearly, the Phiippines is not really excelling well in sports.

As of today the country ranks 5th place in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. Way below Thailand and Vietnam. The country had never won a gold in the Oympics and just 1 or 2 silvers in the history of the Olympics. The Philippines has never joined World Cup finals or other big time sporting events. The weird thing is that Filipinos love sports, yet has not shown it yet to the world.

Basketball is a favorite pasttime in the country. Swimming is also big in the country, having been surrounded by water since the beginning, it is no surprise. Filipinos love PBA, UAAP, NCAA and a whole lot of Sportsfest. Filipinos are sports fans and addicts. They have the strength and determination to excel. But why can't they beat the world?

Although, there are a few who became world famous- Manny Pacquiao, Efren "Bata" Reyes. If one thinks about it, it is just boxing and billiards. What about other sports especially team sports? The Philippines has not left that big impact in sports in the world.

Probably it all boils down to funding. The government lacks money to fund stadiums, sports training, sports facilities among other things. Sports is not a priority in the country's budget. It is just sad to hear things like this. Good thing, some companies would sponsor Philippine teams. Cebuana Lhuillier takes care of the women's basketball team, Happee, PLDT, Smart, San Miguel and other companies does the same with other teams. At the very least, there are companies who supports.

The country has so much potential to lead in sports, even just in the region. In fact, the Philippine won over-all champion in the SEA Games hed in the country. Governement should give a little more for sports, because it might seem that it's just sports. But the truth is sports is more than just winning or losing... It helps people in many things- physically, socially, mentally and it also prevents people to take drugs or do vices. Above all, sports unite the country in ways that are intangible and in ways that citizens cannot comprehend.

a supplement to the previous entry

This article came from abs-cbnnews.com and this can be made a supplemental report to the latest entry in this blog.


Shun excessive materialism at Christmas, Pope says

from Reuters

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict on Sunday urged Catholics to rediscover the religious significance of Christmas, saying the holiday should not be dominated by materialism.

The Pope's words at his Sunday blessing to crowds in a rainy St Peter's Square marked the second consecutive day that the Pontiff warned of consumerism just as the Christmas shopping season kicked off in Italy.

"Too often, unfortunately, today's manner of living and perceiving Christmas suffers from a materialistic mentality," he said.

On Saturday, when Roman Catholics marked the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the leader of the 1.1 billion member Church said adults were only deceiving children by introducing them at ever younger ages into a life of unbridled materialism.

Too many children were growing up in a world saturated with "false models of happiness" and being lured by unscrupulous adults into what he called the "dead-end street of consumerism," he said on Saturday.