Go Azkals!

Football is boring. Isn't this the convenient mantra? Pinoys can't possibly embrace a sport where matches can end in a (gasp) draw. Tabla! What on earth? It is said we love high-scoring events. It is said we can only relate to wham-bam frenzy. Manny Pacquiao pummels a foe. We watch. James Yap hits back-to-back three-pointers. We watch. Chris Greatwich scores the equivalent of a fade-away turn-around jumper using his head. What do we do?

During FTW taping today, we had an animated discussion about the Azkals over sandwiches and iced tea. All of us saw the Philippines-Vietnam match. Some witnessed the first goal. Others caught the telecast in time to see the second goal. What did you do after Phil Younghusband capped the upset of the tournament? I jumped from my sofa. Richard del Rosario shrieked like a girl. And most of us frantically typed "Goooooal!!!" or "Yessssss!!!" on Twitter seconds later.

Magoo Marjon hopes the Azkals start a trend. Nope not just a Twitter trend. He imagines a local football scene that packs bars even if we're years away from the next World Cup. He envisions a maddening surge of local interest in Pele, Maradona, Messi. He proposes that the Azkals bolster an entire industry. Fans will be happy. Bar owners (especially the fellow who runs Magoo's favorite pub in Quezon City) will be happy. Footballers will finally get their due.

Maybe then, football need not reside in just Bacolod or Iloilo. Although, this country owes them a lot for having loved the sport that much. I hope football leaders recognize an opportunity to inject soccer into the mainstream. Because seeing the Younghusbands on billboards just isn't enough. I hear people say we were made to play football. I say we were made to play different sports. Yup, basketball too.

So what the Azkals have done is make basketball lovers like football too, even if just for the duration of the Suzuki Cup. But it's a start. Or, like every goal attempt the Azkals will have from now on, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. I remember the magic of 1991 -- when Pinoys supported national teams in the Southeast Asian Games as if they were cheering for Jaworski or Fernandez or Patrimonio or...you know what I mean.

So trot over to ESPN 8:30pm Wednesday night. Don't mind the foreign-sounding names. They'll play all-out against Myanmar like you would. Their moxie has taken the team this far. I think Magoo's idea of World Cup-caliber enthusiasm each time the Azkals hit the pitch is a bit of a stretch. But the Azkals are stunning Southeast Asia, prompting Vietnam's coach to call his team's shocking loss before 40,000 disappointed spectators a farce (pagbigyan na natin, he had to do something). So who knows what other magic the Azkals can pull-off.

We need at least a draw against Myanmar. Beating them is even better. The result of the Singapore-Vietnam match, then, decides the rest of our itinerary. Think about it. All this drama over a game that can end, 1-1. Football is boring -- or so goes the convenient mantra. But when you're shocking this part of the world, it never is. MH