CONGRESSMAN! If you watched yesterday?s Sona by Pres. Noynoy Aquino, in the midst of the political heavyweights that surrounded the audience glimmered one undisputed heavyweight champion: Rep. Manny Pacquiao.
Didn?t our honorable legislator look good in his barong tagalog? Ever-smiling and sitting up tall while the TV cameras broadcast his space, didn?t he appear confident amongst the crowd of intellectuals? Yes. For this I bet: Other than P-Noy himself, there was no bigger celebrity yesterday?whom the attendees wanted to snap photos with?than our Pinoy champ.
But, with 110 days left before his Nov. 13 clash with Antonio Margarito, this will be another tremendous challenge for Pacman. Not wanting to disappoint his Sarangani constituents, he also can?t spend little time in the gym. How to juggle this added ?congressman? title is Manny?s latest trial. He has to remember that?beyond his representing the 490,000 constituents of Sarangani?his bigger role is representing the entire 90 million Filipinos… as our hero.
He can?t lose. He must win. Therefore, he must train.
Abandoning his Wild Card Gym camp in LA?that, by itself, is a breach of contract. Distractions, distractions.
Though we?ve seen him triumph despite the myriad of affairs (TV shows, Krista Ranillo scandals, late-night gamble allegations, every-Sunday basketball games)?the next three months will be another Pacman game.
Train hard, Manny. Yes, you?re the Sarangani representative, but more than that, you?re the representative of the entire Philippines.
TOUR DE FRANCE. Can you believe this? After biking for 21 days ending last Sunday in Paris, after pedaling for 3,642 kilometers, after the winner logged-in a time of 91 hours, 58 minutes and 48 seconds on that Specialized-branded bike, the difference between the champion and runner-up is minuscule: 39 seconds.
Yup. If you read aloud the above paragraph, it will take you 39 seconds. That?s the same length of time that separated the Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador, from the second-placer, Andy Schleck.
Contador finished with a time of 91:58:48. Schleck ended at 91:59:27. Imagine a winning-time difference of only 39 seconds! For, in Le Tour, every second counts.
(In fact, this winning gap is only the fourth closest in history. The record was the 1989 win by Greg LeMond over Laurent Fignon by eight seconds.)
The Tour de France is considered not only the Wimbledon of Cycling but also one of the toughest events on Earth. What did the 2010 race teach us? Many.
First, Alberto Contador is cycling?s Manny Pacquiao.
He has won three of the last four TdFs (he was absent in 2008 because his team could not compete) and is only the fifth racer in history to win all three Grand Tours (France, Giro d?Italia and Vuelta a Espa?a).
Two, with AC?s win, it reaffirmed the status of Spain as numero uno together with Rafa Nadal, the World Cup-winning football squad, Pau Gasol, and, two nights ago, Fernando Alonso, who won the German Grand Prix. Spain reigns!
Three, we love rivalries. Like Roger vs. Rafa, Lakers vs. Boston (or will it be LA vs. Miami next year?), Tiger vs. Phil (we wish!), there?s a new couple: Contador vs. Schleck.
The past two years, they finished 1-2. We can?t wait for 2011.
Four, the Tour de Lance is done. Mr. Armstrong punctured a tire on the cobblestones, slipped on the wet roads, and admitted he?s ?just not fast enough.? Well, what can you expect from a 38-year-old father of four (baby No. 5 arriving in October).
Which brings me back to Lance?s seven TdF wins?and how astonishing that was to accomplish.
Imagine, zero mistakes for 21 days… multiplied by seven years? straight!
Finally, with Floyd Landis and Greg LeMond ganging up on their fellow American, let?s hope, at the conclusion of all this, that Lance is telling the truth. For the estimated 28 million cancer patients today, for sports, for the sake of honesty, let?s hope Lance did not inject.
