Friends and readers usually send me links to the Pacland Philippine Boxing Forum when my name is brought up. I brace myself for the worst and check it out. Usually, random and nasty insults are hurled at me. It doesn’t bother me, but it’s never a nice thing to see.
This time, though, I was very pleasantly surprised by the intelligent, thoughtful manner with which my last article (” What’s the deal with Pacquiao’s Fans? “) was discussed.
But before I comment further on this issue, let me just clarify a few things:
* I don’t HATE Manny Pacquiao. I think he’s an incredible fighter and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I also supported his placement as Fighter of the Decade and I voted for him three times in Fighter of the Year polling. Do I think that he has been carefully, matched and intelligently maneuvered around certain fighters? Yes. But that’s a criticism I’ve made against Floyd Mayweather and several other fighters. It’s part of the game.
* I have never said that Manny Pacquiao was on PEDs. As a matter of fact, I’ve repeatedly said that the accusations were unfair and completely baseless. I do think that the issue of improved PEDs testing is relevant, though, and I have championed the cause for across-the-board testing of all fighters.
* I was not behind the bogus $65 million story about Saul Alvarez-Manny Pacquiao. That story is ridiculous and just as false as the silly $60 million and $100 million stories swirling around Mayweather. Never trust a news story where the rival promoter is the sole source of the information. I’d rather retire as a writer than attach my name to a bogus story like any of those.
* As far as any racist allegations go, please read my article, “Mayweather’s Racist Rant Lacks Class of a True Star” I think racism and bigotry of all types is disgusting.
* Oh yeah, and I’m not Mexican. I do live in Mexico, but I’m all American. And, in any case, what does that matter? I can assure you that there are no sour grapes from Mexican fans. Manny is very popular among Mexican fight fans.
Now, back to the issue at hand.
Personally, the insults and nastiness don’t bother me, but they do have an adverse effect on the sport and on the general public discourse. Sadly, Pacquiao’s fans are, disproportionately, the cause of most on-line nastiness when it comes to comment sections and other areas open to public comment. They totally drown out all others and bully the discourse to an extent even Mayweather’s delusional fans can’t begin to approach.
Case in point is a recent article I wrote about the Summer’s best upcoming fights. I was torn a new one in the comment section by Pacquiao fans for “intentionally” leaving out Manny’s fight with Marquez. Well, Manny’s fight is in NOVEMBER! Nobody comes away winning from idiocy like that and the idea of holding an intelligent conversation after that is lost in fights, name calling and general nastiness.
And I’m not the only one who feels this way. I regularly speak to dozens of writers and, unanimously, they all have indicated a personal distaste and disregard for those aggressive keyboard warriors who profess to be fans of Manny Pacquiao. Some sites have even had to absorb the cost and effort of pre-screening comments– something that is a true pain in the backside for a writer who should be out working on stories.
In the previously mentioned Pacland thread, several intelligent fans spoke up, acting as all responsible, mature people should– with grace, dignity, and wisdom. We can only control our own actions. Others’ bad actions shouldn’t be used as an excuse to engage in our own. There are plenty of legit ways for Pacquiao fans to win debates without getting nasty, Manny is THAT good.
It was awesome to see the flip side to a group that has been so maligned. It should be known that Pacquiao fans are, indeed, getting a horrible reputation. It’s time for his legion of intelligent, reasonable fans (the silent majority, IMO) to step up and make themselves heard.
Manny Pacquiao is open to criticism, just as any other public figure is. Personally, I try to be responsible and even-handed with any criticism I have. I recognize that this isn’t the case with all writers. But criticism isn’t a put down of the man, the fans, and, certainly not the race.
One of the problem is that an entire cottage industry has developed in the media, comprised of writers who only give Pacquiao fans stories that they want to hear. These writers are exploiting Manny’s loyal fan base for their own financial benefit. The stories they post are generally poorly researched (if researched at all) and often blatantly false.
I wouldn’t insult your intelligence like these people do. I mean everything I say and have no vested interest in giving one side of the story or the other. My job is just to write about boxing. Some day Manny and Floyd will retire and I will still be writing. It doesn’t matter to me if Manny looks good or bad. My job is to just inform and, hopefully, provoke some honest, intelligent thought and debate.
I’ll just end this with something from “Yeoman’s Job” at the Pacland forum. It pretty much sums up what I feel:
“The author has a valid case. We should think first before we react or maybe read the article again. The problem with some of us is that we can’t accept someone else’s opinion. If we don’t like what they say about Manny in an article, we attack their message boards and comment sections with an aggressive nastiness. Now let’s take a backseat and contemplate, is it correct? Some of us accept it as it is because we don’t want to be corrected. If we can’t accept mistakes then we’ll never grow as a person.”
