You must wonder what Philippine sports would be like for 2008 if there were no Manny Pacquiao.
In a performance defying the direst prognosis, the guy has not only shamed pessimists and so-called experts, he has done so with panache.
We are talking, of course, of our fighter?s last great fight. The way he dismantled Oscar De La Hoya, you would think this was a match made in heaven for our guy. He savaged the proud Mexican-American who once owned 10 world titles, leaving us to watch a rare and awesome force in action.
He actually did what our government failed to do. He united us and made us proud of ourselves. He made us forget our lack of money, our hunger, our crazy politics, our divisiveness, our traffic jams.
In brief, he made us see, not what is wrong with us, but what is great about us.
In a year marked by athletic mediocrity in nearly every field, Pacquiao has provided the inspiration and the example, the courage and the will, and today none of us begrudge him the hundreds of millions of pesos (some say more than a billion pesos) that have come his way. Nor do we deny him the honor of being called the greatest Filipino boxer nay, the greatest Filipino athlete ever.
All told, he did not just give us a one-time, big-time fight. He went up the ring three times in 10 months, in a trilogy of spellbinding courage and methodical execution of skill, and with each fight showing him in even better form.
In a year marred by one scandal after another, Pacquiao?s heroics ? derring-do if you will ? have been like fresh rainfall, cleansing our heads and lifting our spirits. In other words, he has left us with a darn good feeling.
This December, he destroyed Oscar De La Hoya, a certified star and the most luminous boxer of his era.
Last March, he created bright moments against Juan Manuel Marquez, in a fight that seemed to have ignited his banner year. With this fight, which he won by split decision and which some quarters claim he lost, Pacquiao added the WBC super featherweight title to his two other titles.
And last June, he clobbered lightweight champion David Diaz so thoroughly and fairly, he turned the Mexican-American from Chicago into a life-long fan, who would pay him homage by attending his birthday bash all the way in General Santos City.
What?s left for Pacquiao to conquer?
Well, there?s Ricky Hatton of Britain, who has a rabid British following that would rival Pacquiao?s Filipino groupies, and perhaps Floyd Mayweather Jr., who might just make a comeback to test the mettle of this Filipino who dares grab his title as boxing?s best pound-for-pound boxer.
But as intense as these fights may become, they can wait. What we want to do now is offer a toast to Pacquiao, to his health and to his skill, and thank him for giving us the priceless gift of national pride.
This 5-6 Filipino phenom has mastered the sport of boxing, gone on to conquer the world stage against certified world champions, and earned the crown of the most important Filipino athlete in modern times. With this, he has energized the nation, shown the world the stuff we?re made of, and put the country on the world map like no one before him.
And so we name Pacquiao, not just our Sportsman of the Year, but our Man of the Year.
