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MANNY PACQUIAO: AN AMERICAN IDOL By Marc Jonathan E. de Jesus PhilBoxing.com Sun, 14 Dec 2008  Finally, we have our own Kobe Bryant, our own Roger Federer, our own Michael Phelps. Finally, we have a tangible hero, a credible source of inspiration, an idol that actually looks like us. You know, someone not exactly good looking by Hollywood standards, not exactly the biggest or tallest guy in the room, and not surprisingly, someone who doesn?t quite fit the proverbial ?cool-kid? mold. Trust me when I tell you that it?s a whole different ballgame being an American-born Filipino.. actually just being an American-born Asian, in general. (Btw, let?s not get into that whole Asian-Pacific Islander debate here, like the PI, Japan is an island on the pacific and they?re labeled, Asian, enough said) Most of us had posters of MJ or even Hulk Hogan on our bedroom walls growing up. Frankly, we gravitated toward cultures not our own, because honestly, there wasn?t anything cool about being Filipino. Who could we look up to? Ernie Reyes Jr.?? That guy from the Skittles commercials?? Right. Some of us went to private, all white, schools? some us went to public, all white, schools, but most of us either weren?t good enough, attractive enough or popular enough to be part of that ?cool crowd?. To a degree we felt like outcasts, sort of like second class citizens (for lack of a better term), not quite fitting in because we looked different. Somehow or another we weren?t that guy chicks would jock, but rather that guy chicks wanted to vent to or to ask for notes from English class. Being in an environment where everyone looked different, we were always in search of a unique identity, and when we thought we found one, it usually consisted of bits and pieces from every corner of pop culture. It was a frighteningly serene situation. We were born into a world where everything that was considered cool, attractive and worshiped was everything we were not. Even our female counterparts preferred to date Black guys, White guys, Latino guys, but never us. Every time we looked in the mirror there was always that hint of disappointment. And again I ask, who did we have to look up to? to inspire us? that looked like us? that faced our odds? that had to deal with our naturally born disadvantages?? Hell yah we were underdogs. The Blacks have mega-icons like Jordan, Jay-Z, you name it. Same with the Latinos, Whites and pretty much every non-Asian culture, save for the Indians, but, of course, they?re classified as Asian . So who do we have to look up to?? to feel socially accepted?? socially attractive?? Jackie Chan?? Please. Rob Fukazaki?? Maybe lol. That guy from Heroes?? Uh. Jin from Lost?? Uh. Jin the MC??? Uh. Sulu?? Okay bad example. And it gets worse in sports? Michael ?one-hit wonder? Chang?? Michelle ?I?m too cocky? Wie?? Yao ?Mr. Injured list? Ming?? And by the way, all are Chinese athletes. It?s no wonder why a good percentage of the young-adult Asian-American population either speaks hood or wears skinny jeans. There isn?t any one to look up to that looks like us, so we adopt a culture other than our own to feel accepted. Sure it?s easy to preach about self-confidence or self-awareness, but usually those preaching are either not Asian-American, too fat to care what anybody else thinks or just blessed, born with good looks. This had been our reality and no amount of self-help books or copies of ?The Game? would permanently change it. Top photo: Pacquiao is mobbed after his arrival at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. 
Pacquiao (R) batters De La Hoya in a dominating performance on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 
Pacquiao celebrates after the victory over De La Hoya. Filipino? Asian? it?s all the same to White America, Black America, just Americans in general. And I probably speak for thousands of Filipino Americans when I say that most people, unknowingly would label me Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese,? in fact, when learning that my parents were from the Philippines, they usually would say, ?oh your Philippinese??. No joke. So now I know why I got so teary eyed? why I was happier than the day I first got laid? when Mr. mega-superstar, Mr. ultra-rich I want to be a billionare, Mr. ?cool kid? himself, Oscar ?the Golden Boy? De la Hoya, whose face was not nearly as golden, got his ass handed to him by a ?diminutive?, ?biting off more than he can chew? TRUE Filipino underdog. (I use the word ?true?, because many people get so excited about our first African-American president, but they completely ignore the fact that his mom is whiter than Angelo Dundee, so technically he?s as much white as he is black.) Pacquiao?s dominating onslaught of a victory was liberating, it was inspirational, it was our declaration of independence. I mean just the build up to this fight seemed eerily similar to many of our experiences growing up. From the get go, Manny was literally ridiculed and disrespected by the media and by the majority of the boxing world, in a nutshell he wasn?t taken seriously. He wasn?t good enough, cool enough or good looking enough to be respected, to be given a fighting chance. De la Hoya and his entourage, i.e. the ?cool crowd?, led by head jack-ass, B-hop and B-list celebrity George Lopez, especially during the weigh-in, were relentless in their insults and taunts. And for a while, it was disheartening, because other than a Freddie Roach comment here or a Bob Arum comment there, no one stuck up for us. ?He?ll take him to school?. No response. ?All of you are the same height?. Laughter than silence. Flashbacks of our life?s reality were going off and now it was being played out on the big stage. At the fight, Oscar?s ?cool kid? status continued with A-list celebrity sightings left and right. And to try and balance it all out? they tried to Hollywood-up Pacquiao with a Mark ?I look like I just woke up? Walberg visit to the Wildcard Gym on HBO 24/7, but even that seemed as scripted as an Entourage episode. (I say lets dump Arum for Ari as Manny?s manager, and Buboy could be the new Lloyd) Matter of fact, who was Pacquiao?s biggest sports star to visit him?? David West. Many non-hardcore basketball fans just made like an owl and said ?who??. And no its not Kanye?s brother either. All of this of course foreplay to the ?Dream Match?. The moment came. Then the bell rang. And with each successive lop-sided round, a new culture and a new hope, was being built with every straight left, and every right hook thrown. Right in front of our very eyes, a legend was being forged. The only time I witnessed something so great, sports wise, was Kobe?s 81 point game. Then came the 7th round, also known as ?siete de massacre? or the Trey Songz termed ?middle finger to the hataz? round. This was a round so traumatic for the Golden Boy he actually experienced a knockdown without physically being knocked down. It was probably the only credible 3 minutes of ass whopping that could carry a symbolic feeling of vindication for masses of people, just like at the end of ?Karate Kid 2? only flip the ethnicities. We were all witnessing a pinoy not unlike ourselves, overcoming the greatest of odds, facing a deck that was severely stacked against him, and obliterating through it all with a smile and both middle fingers in the air. And after Oscar took the beating of his life, and said ?no mas?, the world as many of us knew it, changed. Oscar was TKO?d into an old, no wait, really old shell of himself, he was suddenly the golden girl. And just like that a nation of millions rejoiced, cried and thanked the Lord (because you know, if you pray hard enough God will grant you the strength to kick someone?s ass). But more importantly, those Filipino-Americans like myself, who weren?t quite cool enough, weren?t quite good enough, weren?t quite determined enough, rejoiced. We finally have a modern day hero that looks like us. A hero that wasn?t blessed with supernatural abilities or towering height. A hero that simply used hard work, undeterred determination and relentless will, all tools we have access to, to prove the world wrong. A hero that showed us why underdogs always have a fighting chance despite the direst of circumstances. Yes, admittedly or not, we, average, run-of-the-mill, Fil-Ams tend to live our lives vicariously through our heroes? our idols. Let?s face it, our lives can be dull and quite boring. That?s why we?re so passionate about our heroes, constantly checking websites for the latest news or checking the latest statistics. It?s our form of escapism, our way to make life more exciting, that?s just our life?s reality. And now?? We can finally do this, not through some 6?6 black athlete, but through Manny Pacquiao. He is someone that we NOW can brag about and idolize and imitate, while at the same time, remain true to our culture... to our heritage. His triumphant victory resonates with certain Fil-Ams simply because he faced similar obstacles and trials. That feeling of being an outcast. That feeling of not being good enough for people?s standards? just looking different and being ostracized for that. Manny Pacquiao overcame it all and gave us Fil-Ams renewed hope and distinct pride in who we are. The Pacquiao-De la Hoya fight will ultimately go down as a legendary tale, a modern day David vs. Goliath if you will. But to those, who like me, that hadn?t quite gotten the fairest shake in life here in America? that fight is our symbolic hope that anything is possible with hard work, unwavering determination and relentless aggression in pursuit of that goal. That it?s not about being in the ?cool crowd?, it?s about making your own ?cool crowd?. That it?s not about the many opinions that people may have on you, it?s about the belief in yourself and your abilities. And most importantly, that we can finally have a poster of someone who looks like us, worthy enough for our bedroom walls. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marc Jonathan E. de Jesus.  |
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