KENNETH PORIO | the blog

Philippine Football in the Digital Age

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:54:00 +0000

Wonder why everytime these men flock together, fans flock together as well? Blame social media. (credits to jonny)

On that night on December 5, 2010, when the few Filipino football fans who have watched the Philippine national football team win against the national team of Vietnam, the then-defending Suzuki Cup champions, they logged-in to Facebook and Twitter and passed the good news of victory around the Internet. Minutes later, the national team’s well-known and well-loved monicker, the “Azkals,” became a trending topic on social media, and Google searches of almost every player of the national team surged. People started to get interested with the men who became a new source of Pinoy pride. A year on, the Azkals and the sport of football became one of the most talked-about topics in the Philippines today.

It’s all because of the Internet.

Since the 2010 Suzuki Cup, anything related to the Azkals and Philippine football trends in social media regularly.

Why do I credit the Internet? As I am an enthusiast of Information Technology, I believe technologies like this played a major role in inciting interest among Filipinos with the sport of football. With the Internet, the things that we have interest with are able to be shared across the world as long as you have access. With websites such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online forums, we are able to share what we think, what we appreciate, what we criticize about things like Philippine football. This I never expected a few years ago.

The UFL, empowered by social media.

You may ask, “What’s the point here?” The point I want to emphasize with is that the social media scene is now a large part of the machine that pumps up the popularity of football in the country. Social networking sites help friends, relatives and colleagues connect in supporting football. Through a simple wall post, tweet, comment or blog post, these can impact the popularity of the sport, whether it could be about the national teams, the youth teams, the United Football League, or even the grassroots programs. Fans are being made through social media as they come together online to support their favorite team. Social media also created a system of discussion among people who wanted to share their thoughts about the beautiful game.

But there is something missing.

Message boards are everywhere.

Being a budding software developer, we should not just limit ourselves with social media this year 2012. There are numerous applications online that we must utilize and take focus in order to promote football in the country. With online forums and message boards about Philippine football springing up, we should participate with the discussions and commentary about the sport. Also, we can use them to be able to scout and recruit potential national team players; we may never know a skilled Filipino player from here or abroad becomes interested to join the Azkals or the Malditas, or even join the UFL.

Wikipedia: the go-to source.

Not only that, online reference tools such as Wikipedia can also be utilized to promote the national teams, the UFL, the clubs and its players. There is a serious need to promote them by making or improving their Wikipedia entries; all the users need is a thorough research, a little skill, and following the guidelines. No wonder we would see detailed, extensive entries sooner than we think.

Podcasting works!

As podcasting and video blogging continue to be a useful communication tool worldwide, there is an opportunity for us to share our thoughts through online multimedia. Fans can make their own audio podcast on anything football. Football leagues such as the UFL and its clubs can utilize these platforms to share match highlights, opinions, and fan support. Mainstream media can use podcasting as an alternative to what they broadcast on TV and radio. In due time, our football clubs will have their own show even over the Internet.

Why not develop you own football-related software?

To the geeks out there, ever wonder if football can help satisfy your passions? Why not help out the community by making your own information system, maybe something that dynamically records match statistics, analyzes player abilities, or organizes the league system? Why not build your own localized version of FIFA Soccer and Football Manager video games? Why not research on studies related to football in many areas such as in management, economics, statistics, mathematics, physics, computing and other forms of sciences? Why not help our local football associations and clubs build their websites to promote local development? The possibilities are endless, and it would definitely help not just our local football community but the whole world as well.

All it takes is your urge to help.

The Azkals wouldn’t have made this far if not for your continuous support through your use of technology. As they venture to more games this 2012, I expect that they need your utmost support – the support that they need for them to play better and bring pride to our nation. I expect that every wall post, every tweet, every comment, and every blog post you make, will leave a significant mark in this blooming community. I expect that in this digital age, Philippine football will be strengthened through our innovativeness and creativity.

Expect more trends this 2012. Never miss the chance.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: Rob Gier and the Good Ol' English Charm

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:22:00 +0000

Many Filipinos wondered why the Philippine national football team, fondly called the Azkals, had to have these good-looking, highly skillful men. Many question why these mixed-breed players should be there. Why the need? Improve the style of play? Definitely. Make the Philippine team win games? Surely. Raise consciousness of football in the country? Yes! But... make shrieking, swooning female fans? I'm not sure of that one, but it's strange but true.

In this world called football (soccer to some), there are the poster boys that would grace the conscious and the unconscious minds of football fans, whether they play the sport or not, support the national team or not or root for one club or not at all. These men have all the skills plus the looks that attract them. And the Filipino diaspora is lucky enough to produce offspring with traits that only heaven could buy to get it off. Traits that are inherent of the mixture of different genetic makeups of different races. Traits that culture, arts and science can only reminisce and reflect with.

Forget the Younghusbands for now. The Philippines is lucky to have Robert James Dazo Gier, nicknamed Rob.

Rob was born with an English father and a Filipina mother in the 6th of January, 1981, in Ascot, a town in the county of Berkshire in southern England. For those unfamiliar, Ascot is a town more famous for horse-racing. The Ascot Racecourse is home of the world's famous horse racing meets, dating back in the 1700s.

Ascot Racecourse

Not only that, consequently, the races attract famous people including the British Royal Family, and people in the higher social classes dress up in fancy hats made in Ascot. A number of fancy hats worn during the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton were made in this small town.

Fancy hats are a staple in Ascot during race days.

Shortly after, though, Rob was based in the famous city of Oxford, the city famous for its prestigious University of Oxford, the oldest in the English-speaking world.

The University of Oxford

Rob's senior football debut for Wimbledon (1999/2000)

Rob plays a defender, usually as a center-back or a right-back. In his younger years, he played for numerous football teams across the South East and the East of England, including Wimbledon (now Milton Keynes Dons), Rushden and Diamonds, Cambridge United, Woking, Aldershot Town, Grays Athletic and his hometown team Ascot United.

Rob celebrating his first ever goal as a pro footballer.

His most successful stints happened during his involvement with Aldershot Town and Grays Athletic, that won numerous awards during those seasons he played in, including a Conference Cup in the 2007/08 season for Aldershot Town. Because of his performance, he is well-revered by English media, including the BBC.

Aldershot Town FC as champions in the 2007/08 Football Conference South season

Rob in Grays Athletic kit. (2008/09)

Now then, with all these credentials, why he came up with the Azkals so lately?

Rob was a Johnny-come-lately in the Philippine national team, having come only in mid-2009. He has an adequate experience with English football that has well impressed the Azkals' coaching staff. So why the buzz?

Rob Gier (center) on his debut for the Philippines during the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers (2009).

In his words, he told DZMM that back in his days as a young player, he always wanted to play for his mother's national team. He has long searched for ways to look for the people to connect so he could get in and try out for them. Finally it came to him in 2009 when he got the contact for the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). He submitted his credentials without a little intervention from a fellow. The PFF did not search for him; it was Rob who came to the PFF. A volunteer of sorts was him for the flag.

“When I found out about the Philippine national team, I sent them an e-mail, with my resume, if you will,” says 30-year old fullback Rob Gier, who was already an experienced pro in his early 20s. “Not to brag or anything, but I was playing at a good level in England, and would they be interested in having me? I actually wish I had found out when I was a spring chicken.” (link)

Rob did not expect his first experiences with the team to be bread-and-butter. Because of its reputation to be underdogs in the Asian football scene, and being a basketball-crazed nation, he realised a painful truth. There was no support; there were no fans cheering, no interest. They pay their fares all by themselves, spend all they have for food, and sleep in the unworthiest of places. More so, they were battered heavily by their opponents in high margins.

However, those experiences would soon pay off, with the men who started it all.

Rob (#2) during the 2010 Suzuki Cup against Vietnam.

Rob was one of the starting XI during that match against Vietnam in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. There was no Pinoy fanfare, only screaming Vietnamese fans. And there, all he did was to stop any vicious attack from the men with red kits. And he did his all and won that game.

That started his new journey.

From being one of the nobodies of Philippine sport, Rob, along with his teammates, became hot property. Along with the handful of English-bred fellows in the team, he became more noticeable to Filipina fans, not only because of his almost Oxford-standard accent, but also for his peculiar facial structure that's a mix of a typical southern English lad and the Manileño maginoo of the 1950s Filipino cinema. It can be also attributed to his well-built body that has luckily graced the walls of a health store chain in Metro Manila.

Rob in his full shirtless glory for Health and Beyond.

Well, if the handful of Pinay fans only knew he is already married.

Rob on BC Mag Philippines featuring his wife Emma and baby Lily Grace

Rob married Emma, an English lady whom he met since their childhood days. After four years of marraige, Emma was soon found to be pregnant. At that moment, Rob had to call off his national team duty during the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Myanmar to attend to his wife back in England as she was found to have a delicate pregnancy. As days went by, and as Rob had to constantly fly in and fly out, he had to keep in touch with his wife through Skype, checking if she is alright. And before the 2011 Long Teng Cup came along, Rob had to call of once more, as his wife was about to give birth that month. He stayed so he could fully attend to her as she labours.

Rob with baby Lily Grace. (18 Sep 2011)

And that day came. Emma gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Lily Grace. Such a happy father is he when she came into their lives. As of this day, he attends to his little girl whenever he is around in Oxford, learning the joys of fatherhood every step of the way.

As you can see, Rob is a family man. But maybe what can be more attributed to Rob's attractiveness is his seemingly well-mannered demeanour that is characteristic of both well-bred Englishmen and the typical Filipino maginoo. He seems very open to his fans and is friendly among his peers. He has also that seemingly apparent "gift of gab" that has made him the figure you see making the team speech before every game he's in. He also has the wits in helping out his fellow players and finding new ones. No wonder he was made one of the Azkals' scouts and the coordinator for European-based players.

And with that, in recent days, a fan club was formed. Aptly called the GIERfriends, they cheer for Rob and is solid for Rob. They come to Azkals games whenever Rob plays, and are there cheering for him with all the placards and whatnots. Now that Rob has signed with Filipino side Global F.C. in the United Football League, these fans will also cheer for him when he shall play for the club sometime.

Rob with the GIERfriends.

Why the charm, you ask? Rob, although reaching his prime age, is a true example for those who desire to help the country improve the level of play and promote the sport to every Filipino. And he's proud that he is attached to our country and wants to learn a lot from us. With his good experience with English football, an attractive appearance, and a Pinoy heart, no wonder our team's got the charm. The good ol' English charm, with a Pinoy flavour.

KENNETH

My Life in Twenty Eleven...in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:05:00 +0000

Twenty eleven.

What a very significant year for me.

Here were the most significant points in my life this year, in simple words, in photographs:

January: I had my "new" laptop, a used Dell Latitude D420.

February: A black-and-white moment for UPMin seniors. My review with PhilNITS. Discussions with Mindanao issues.

March: Some fun & nostalgic moments with BACA 2010. My first PhilNITS attempt.

April: Practicum part 1. Abreeza just opened.

May: Practicum part 2. Some doughnut moments.

June: I turned twenty. My first sem as a "Super Senior."

July: I mesmerised with a new bus ride. Azkals became a pastime.

August: Kitties in the house. Backup trouble.

September: Proposal woes. DevCon.

October: I turned down my next attempt at PhilNITS. I heart Azkals. Seeing kitties in UPMin doing seductive poses.

November: Second semester. Proposal at the table.

December: Looking forward. New doggie in the house.

This is 2011. Looking forward for the coming year.
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Men Who Started it All (Part 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:06:00 +0000

This is Part 4 of a series of posts about the men behind the rise of the Azkals. You are encouraged to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.

Next on Hans Michael Weiss’s assignments was the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. The qualifiers were done for the first time since 2002, wherein the nation was one of a very few that did not enter to qualify for the 2006 and 2010 editions. And during those attempts to qualify for the event in the past, the national team only got stuck in the first round, losing with big margins to Asian neighbours.

But with an even deeper lineup made by the man, Dan Palami, the coach was sure for his team to, at least, break the record to get to the second round.

Many of the Filipinos have wanted to see their team making it to the main 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil. But he was pragmatic to say that it’s too early to say the Azkals would be there. He knows the team has potential, but it would take a very long time to see the results.

In the away leg in Sri Lanka, where the boys played at a very rocky pitch, they played for their lives surviving a dry, unwelcoming climate – both with the weather and of its citizens who support their national team. The Ceylon team scored against them, until new recruit Nate Burkey scored the equalizer.

That goal became a glimmer of hope when they went back to Manila.

The home leg was held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium for the first time since it was last used in the early 1990’s. The miracle in Hanoi gave Rizal a decent makeover, with a refurbished pitch that was good enough for a Premiership match. With a sold-out crowd, it was the Panaad experience all over again for the German.

It rained during that afternoon, which came out as a lucky charm for the Azkals. At those few minutes into the match, Chieffy Caligdong scored the first goal. Phil Younghusband gave the second. Ángel Guirado scored the third and Phil made the final goal through a penalty kick. With five goals to one on aggregate against the Sri Lanka team, it led the Philippine team to the second round for the first time.

It was indeed a victory for the team and the nation. But Weiss remained pragmatic, as he knew they will face a very tough team, the Kuwait national team, the Al-azraq (the “Blues”).

He knew he would face a team that has qualified for the World Cup main draw in the 1980s, a team that is a two-time Asian Cup titlist, and a team from a Middle-East football powerhouse with a football system way better than its neighbours in South East Asia.

Again, at the away leg in Hawaili, Kuwait, in a drier, more unwelcoming climate, with a forty-degree centrigrade temperature and a band of hostile fans, it became a tougher game for the boys, with skipper Aly Borromeo and midfielder Stephan Schröck suspended for defensive over-enthusiasm and ill-tempered behavior, respectively. The cauldron-like weather was unlikely for many of the boys who mostly are accustomed to temperate climates in Europe and America. Hooligans dared to pass through security to bring laser pointers to distract players, specifically goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. The complexion was not very calm and exciting without Aly and Schröcki; it was turbulent and chaotic.

But Weiss was calm and confident his team will not be massacred with a massive scoreline. The score: three goals to nil in favor of the Al-azraq. Blue Haired Fan and company did not walk out in frustration.

Then came that home leg back in Rizal Memorial. Aly and Stephan were back, but it was too late. They had to make crucial measures.

Things were still chaotic as the team could took their every ounce of energy to battle out the very strong Kuwaiti defense. At that dying minutes of the first half, all hope was lost until Schröcki gave it a shot from Chieffy's assist.

That goal sparked the hopes of a win, a win that would sure rise up the Azkals to its ranks. However, the Kuwaitis took its revenge and took the last laugh at a 1-5 aggregate loss.
The Azkals bade goodbye to their hopes of a World Cup, but never baded goodbye to a bright future ahead. And Coach Weiss entrusted it to his young wards.

Now, why have I brought up these men? Their money? Their effort? Their dedication? One thing. A faith. A faith that someday the Filipinos can be proud of how they look at their fellow countrymen. In this very competitive world, national pride comes with a price, a very hefty price. But these men gave everything for this. No way it shall hold them back. They are the main men behind these achievements, and everyone should be happy and proud of it.

Dan Palami. Simon McMenemy. Hans Michael Weiss. The men who gave what they had to bring up an awareness to the Filipino people that its fellow countrymen can do it. They gave their knowledge to these men so that unity, pride and honour will prevail. Until then, they will forever be remembered as the men who started it all for Philippine football.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Men who Started it All (Part 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:10:00 +0000

This is Part 3 of a series of posts about the men behind the rise of the Azkals. You are encouraged to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

As Englishman Simon McMenemy left his post as coach of the Philippine national football team, the Azkals, a German came to the scene. And upon his arrival, many of the football enthusiasts were curious on whom he is and what can he do to bring his new wards to greater heights.

He was part of an aid package by the German Football Federation (DFB) to the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) which includes some equipment, training camps, coaching courses, and an undisclosed financial grant, allegedly amounting to around €500,000. Therefore, the PFF did nothing to get this coach and all these perks into the team; it was because the PFF did something for the DFB to send these to help the Philippine team.

And that man is named Hans Michael Weiß.

(Yes, it should be spelled that way. But since many of our Pinoy readers don't know how to pronounce, or even how to type, the German character "ß", called an eszett or the "sharp /s/" sound, let's spell it as Weiss. Take note too, it must be pronounced roughly as /'vaisz/).

This 46-year-old, six-footer man, who was born in Dannenfels, a small town in the West German state of Rhineland, is not just some guy who came out of nowhere. His credentials as a football player and coach speak for itself. Even his academic credentials are definite assets as well, as he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science, and a master’s degree in Physical Education in the University of Mainz.

In the days of his youth, he played as a goalkeeper in Kickers Offenbach and Vespar football clubs, now playing in the middle tiers of the German football system. (Credits to his height, I think so.)

As he moved on to be a coach in the late 1990’s, he first ventured the depths of the Japanese soccer system and became the coach of Kyoto-Sanga. When he guided the players from this soccer club, it became one of the most successful of the then-budding J-League. Japan is also the country where he met his wife, and brought them two beautiful girls.

He moved on to China, where he coached the China PR’s Under-20 and Under-23 national teams, which had a turbulent yet successful experience under his care. After such, he moved to the small African nation of Rwanda, a nation plagued with the horrors of the 1994 genocide and the scare of HIV-AIDS. Nevertheless, as he coached its Under-17 national team, he was also an agent of change in the nation in promoting football as a means of promoting livelihood and alleviating poverty.

And then the opportunity came when the DFB offered the Philippines the package it needed after the miracle in Hanoi in early December 2010. From a select pool of coaches under the German football body, he was chosen to coach the Philippine national team, with his salary taken care of by the DFB.

When he arrived in Manila in mid-January 2011, he immediately saw the situation of football in the country. It is not well-known as a sport, until the miracle in Hanoi happened a month ago. It is long been overshadowed by basketball and boxing, the most popular ones in the country. And it is not properly supported in terms of its finances, infrastructure and fans, as it has long been perceived as an elitist or a Bisaya sport, as it is played by either school-children in wealthy private schools around the country or in the outskirts of the Visayas region, particularly in the islands of Panay and Negros.

And he needed to break the chains of that perception.

His first assignment was the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup pre-qualifying leg against the Mongolia national team. The home fixture was due to happen in February 9 in the Panaad Stadium, at the football-crazy city of Bacolod. He fielded the regulars like skipper Aly Borromeo, Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta, Anton del Rosario, the Younghusband brothers, Neil Etheridge, among others. Nothing out of the ordinary, so he thought. But little that this German knew was how he would react to the hospitable and celebratory culture that Filipinos are known for.

As it was a few weeks after the miracle in Hanoi, it was expected that this event would be a sold-out one. And it did. Fans and supporters of the Azkals, whether because of their football or their good looks, were filling Panaad to the brim. Television coverage was more than ready to send it to the masses around the country. Even the Philippine National Police (PNP) had to send around a thousand police officers to make sure nothing serious would take place. It was really a very strange surprise to Weiss, as all he knew that these situations only happen to his native land with crazy fans filling stadiums to support either their clubs or their national teams.

Minutes before kickoff, a strange-looking fan caught Weiss’s eyes. Clad in a blue wig, face painted with the colours of the Philippine flag, and crazy as a rabid dog, the man went around the track oval of the Panaad holding the Philippine flag, cheering for the Azkals. He was soon halted by the PNP officers, and was arrested. It shocked and angered fans live and on TV. That man, soon identified as Richard "Ebong" Joson, a Filipino, was soon tapped by the German, through the PFF, to form the cheering squad known to this day as the Kaholeros (from the Filipino word kahol which means “to bark” like a dog). And Ebong, after that incident, was given a new identity known today as The Blue-Haired Fanatic.

I credit the coach for giving birth to this fan. To this day the Blue-Haired Fanatic and the Kaholeros lead the Filipino contingent in the stands to cheer for the Azkals everywhere they go. And it is as rabid as ever.

Culture-shocked in a way, Weiss had the fondest experience starting with that fixture in Bacolod, feeling a love with the people who supported the Azkals all the way. As fireworks were lit as they won that match, he knew he will be able to lead the team to greater heights by qualifying for the tournament.

And it did. Through all the pains and challenges that ensue the team during the qualifying games, including the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan at the time they had a training camp in March, the Azkals qualified for the AFC Challenge Cup main draw for the first time ever. And winning this tourney will lead them to the AFC Asian Cup, with the 2015 edition to be held in Australia.

It was not yet over. A bigger road lies ahead. An interesting fact is that, the name Panaad is actually a Hiligaynon word for “promise.” Indeed it was a promising experience for the coach and the Azkals.

More on Part 4.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Men Who Started it All (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:06:00 +0000

This is Part 2 of a series of posts about the men behind the rise of the Azkals. Click here to go to Part 1.

At that very moment, Simon McMenemy, the coach of that team which would soon leave the dark age of Philippine football, stood on that ground that was a potential haven for emerging talent. Together with team manager Dan Palami, he wanted his team to be the best they are with.

Palami, that Waray manager who came to action for a struggling team, made huge sacrifices for his wards. He spent his own money to subsidize the air fares of majority of the players. He sponsored the meals of the players before and after every training session and every game. He sits down with the team at the sidelines during every game. He sometimes provides emotional support for those who miss their loved ones overseas. As I said previously, he takes care of these men like they were his children. With him on their sides, their morale just accelerated like an F1 racing car.

McMenemy, on the other hand, took the first step to improve that team. He took notes on his observations on the Azkals' previous fixtures - what worked, what didn't seem to work and what can be improved. What made him comfortable being with the team was the attribute of Filipinos being able to converse in English well. Language barriers didn't seem to bother Macca as he is able to talk to everyone without bothering delays.

And looking into the lineup that Palami conceived, he soon found out that their wards are more promising than before. Being with the English style of football for almost two decades of his life, Macca discovered a backbone that is surprisingly an infusion of both English and Filipino heritage and experience: a goalkeeper who plays for Fulham in the Premiership (Neil Etheridge), a centre-back who played for Wimbledon, a former Football League team (Rob Gier), a centre-midfielder who played for various mid-tiered English teams (Chris Greatwich) and a striker who is a former reserve player for Chelsea in the Premiership (Phil Younghusband).

With that lineup that was considered a rare find in the British isles and the Philippine archipelago, Macca was sure that his team had a serious potential many of the average Filipinos had not dared to know.

And that was not all. He made sure that the leadership was at its top shape. Co-skippers Chieffy Caligdong and Aly Borromeo were Macca's source of his hopes to make everyone in his team steady and aim for goals. His desire for Chieffy was to make him known as a man who could break in the defense and aim a shot. His desire for Aly was to keep a clean sheet for the team, having a defense line that's steady along with that British-laced backbone.

And everything was set. No-one from that team, even for Palami and McMenemy, would expect that their victories will soon wake up a deeply slumbering footballing nation that was the Philippines.

At that unchartered territory that was the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup main tournament, at the time Palami and his wards sang Lupang Hinirang amidst a rampaging, hostile crowd, everyone was set on a calm, aiming for a good run. While their opponents' fans continuously scream, make faces and put their thumbs down to the Filipino booters, the manager and the coach was confident as they ever was, knowing it will never be an ordinary battle for the Azkals.

And that miracle happened in Hanoi.

The Vietnam team was slaugthered right at home, and those shots from Greatwich and Younghusband silenced its hostile fans. As the Pinoy booters hug, kiss and wave at each other in victory, all they knew was they have just beated a more favoured team, a team that fans from every part of South East Asia (including skeptical Filipinos) expected to win. But little that they know that they just awakened a nation long deprived of football (soccer to most of us then).

Dan and Simon could not believe their eyes that their team just beat the defending champions. As they hugged each other in happiness and pride, they knew everything they sacrificed paid off. Simon moved on to greet Vietnam's team coach for the spirit of fair play, but he was soon given an unwelcoming gesture.

It was epic to see the begging-off of the coach who was just humiliated by "weaklings" led by a young, energetic coach and managed by a visionary manager. Everyone at My Ðính was silenced, except the Philippine team, who cheered in high heavens for that miracle.

All thanks to the man.

When the year ended, people had found out Macca's coaching license expired a long time ago, forcing him to leave the team. But while Macca may have moved on to other places, he just left a legacy, a legacy that the world will forever remember. His hyper-defensive strategy just worked well in style. A stylish start of football renaissance in the Philippines would have not been possible without the young man who was just there to guide a very promising team. He now passed on that experience with the Filipino booters to the teams he is currently holding. It was indeed a great boost to his career.

While away in Philippine soil, Macca still communicates with his former wards, especially through social media. Looking at his Twitter page, he still mentions many of the Azkals and its managing staff to know what they are doing and how they are improving football in the nation. Seems he couldn't let go of the Pinoy that has also ingrained in him.

Now he is forever in their hearts and our hearts as well.

He was then replaced by a German, a towering prowess of Teutonic efficiency and discipline. Little by little this man would lead the team to even greater heights.

More on Part 3.
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Men who Started It All (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:59:00 +0000

All it took was a shocking, stunning, gut-wrenching, heart-stopping upset. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese at the My Ðính stadium in Hanoi, with millions who were watching on TV screens across South East Asia, could not believe their eyes as their team lost to whom they've called whipping boys, minnows, and weaklings. And those brave men whom they've labeled with came out in high spirits that they have finally overcome the odds. With that victory, the world had their utmost respect and appreciation. Who to thank for? The man who started it all, Dan Stephen Palami.

For many years the men we fondly call the Azkals had hoped for someone who would nurture them, support them and care for them, even if their fellow countrymen never dared to know them all. Someone who would be there all the way, through their ups and downs, through their joys and sorrows. Someone who will not be moved by the cruelties of the corrupt place that was Philippine sports. Someone who would sacrifice everything, even his own life, to lift up a team and a sport that has been in the dark for decades in the country. And finally, he came.

It was December of 2009. The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) was looking for that man who would take up the challenge to manage the national football team. That man must have a vision for football, and would be willing to help them against all odds. And they finally found Dan Palami, a Waray born and raised in Tacloban City. He is a businessman who was (then) the Chief Executive Officer of APT Global, a railways company that is involved with Manila's Light Rail Transit (LRT), and is the president of the Leyte Football Association (FA). He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who graduated with a degree in Accountancy at the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas - Tacloban College, and a former law student of UP Diliman College of Law. A football player in his youthful days, he is in active involvement with football in the Eastern Visayas through his leadership in the Leyte FA.

The PFF approached Palami to offer the job to manage the nationals, as he was fresh from managing the Under-19 national team then (which was also humiliated by that time during a certain regional tournament months before). However, it came with a very crucial condition - he must manage everything by himself and he must isolate from the intrigues the PFF was dealing with, including the alleged corruption of then-president Jose Mari Martinez. Palami was left with a critical task to do, that is to manage the Azkals like his multi-million peso company. With all his options on the table, he was ready to take up the challenge.

Way back then, the Azkals were a team that never seem to win, and were a team that was constantly humiliated even by its regional neighbours. With that in mind, Palami thought of strengthening the national team lineup. The national team already had skipper Aly Borromeo, who was already a skillful and influential leader. It also had defender Anton del Rosario who keeps the defense handy, and winger Chieffy Caligdong and striker Ian Araneta who were consistent goalscorers. In addition, they also just had Fulham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, (then-) Grays Athletic defender Robert Gier, (then-) FC Veendam midfielder Jason de Jong, and brothers Chris and Simon Greatwich, who are playing in college soccer teams in America. The team's player pool was deep in itself but Palami thought it wasn't enough.

British-born former Chelsea reserves Phil and James Younghusband took a hiatus in international football in 2007 due to a row with the PFF, allegedly for corrupt practices and lack of support, and went on to take careers as commercial models. Fortunately, Palami approach them and encouraged them to return to the national team, and since then, their hopes in making football known in the country were rekindled. Palami is also credited to recruiting other foreign-based Filipino footballers, such as Manny Ott and Mark Drinkuth of Germany, Gino Pavone of America, and Ray Jonsson of Iceland. He is also a key influence of recruiting and re-recruiting local players such as 16-year-old goalkeeper Christopher Camcam from Southridge School (now at Kaya FC), veteran goalkeeper Eduard Sacapaño of Philippine Army, Jerry Barbaso of Global FC, Roel Gener of the Philippine Army, Mark Ferrer of Philippine Air Force, Nestorio Margarse Jr. of Philippine Army, Peter Jaugan of Philippine Air Force, and striker David Basa of the University of Santo Tomas, among many others.

As the lineup grew, another challenge was brought up. They needed another coach. British Desmond Bulpin had to leave the team, and someone had to fill in his position. With help from Chris Greatwich, he acquired the coach they were looking for, Simon Alexander McMenemy.

Then 33 years of age, he had coached Worthing FC, a non-league football club based in south-east England. Born in Haywards Heath, a small town in the county of Sussex just near London's Gatwick airport, Macca, as fans and team-mates call him such, was deemed as an energetic figure, a man worthy to see greater heights, and someone who can lead his team on top. He begun coaching due to his frustrations with injuries that made him left professional football at an early age. But that frustration never let him down, as he was expected to properly mentor a national team.

Knowing that he faces a team that didn't seem to win and a sport that didn't seem to attract Filipino crowds, he had to do something extraordinary. Together with Dan Palami, he made sure the team was in high spirits, as fit as can be, and has the urge to succeed for the pride of the country.

What Palami did was unbelievable, even for sporting honchos. He is always with the team. He joins the team during their travels. He sits with them on the bench. He made sure there was food after every training and every match they played. He, together with Macca, brought up the team like they were his own employees, or better yet, as if they were his children.

More of this story on our Part 2.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Captain

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:35:00 +0000

Ah, yes. It's El Capitan. It's that man named Alexander Charles "Aly" Borromeo. We all know him as the captain of the Philippine national football team, the Azkals. Many know him as that six-foot-one-inch, 190-pound behemoth who leads the defense. Many know him as that man who has a don't-mess-with-me look that has infused with a spark of spunk and swag. A lot of people know him as the man with all the aggressive demeanor but topped with a handsome look (and an intriguing accent) that has caught many fans dead speechless. (Blame him being born in San Francisco, CA, and having a Spanish mestizo lineage.) A few have seen for themselves his buffed physique that has graced fans' eyes either through meeting him personally (shirtless or whatnot), or through the numerous endorsements that has garnered criticism from conservatives.

Yes, it is El Capitan Aly Borromeo. The captain we come to know and love.

Every time he is there, the style of play becomes a very exciting one, a very energetic one. The complexion of the fixture becomes interesting and sometimes, nerve-wracking. After all, he leads his fellows on the pitch, and he needs everything in order. He wants his fellow warriors to be prepared for the unexpected thing their opponents would do to them.

For me, a captain is a mediator, a bridge that should connect the gaps between every person he involves with. As said by the skipper himself, he establishes communication between the locally-bred players and the so-called "Fil-foreign" players. He talks to the coach, the manager, and all the staff of the national team and his club. Born in the States yet has spent most of his life here in the Philippines (he can speak Tagalog well, albeit the accent), that should be his asset there.

Leading a team was no joke for him. He had been through the teams lowest times, including those double-digit slaughters by Southeast Asian neighbours a few years back. He would have given up this footballing thing and take up basketball and play for the PBA and the Smart Gilas national team. But he didn't give up. He committed to don the flag for football no matter what. And now, he is reaping the perks of the teams' highest times. And it was overwhelming.

It made him cry. For a man who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Fans now love Aly to pieces after that fairy tale journey at the 2010 Suzuki Cup. A lot of fans, mostly the females, would love his face and physique before his kind of football. But for me, hardcore fans and football purists, we love his dedication to the country, his passion for football, his love for the Filipino people. Inspite of all the criticisms, he stays firm to his being Pinoy.

But what if El Capitan wasn't there?

During the World Cup Qualifiers, where he served a one-fixture suspension for being booked twice, all for defensive over-enthusiasm, the feel of the match quickly became turbulent. No-one came to the rescue at keeping the defense steady. No-one kept the complexion to a calm. At that cauldron that was Kuwait, Aly felt he wanted to get off the sidelines and be an emotional prowess for his suffering brethren.

And when he finally got on the pitch at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, it was too late for Aly. All things were uncertain. But when his fellow Stephan Schroeck got the icebreaker at the first half, he had a glimmer of hope, that unfortunately faded when the Al-azraq took their revenge and scored two goals. That second and final goal of Kuwait made his emotions quiver as he pitied over the fallen Ray Jonsson on the goal post. It was over for them.

But that hope never died down. He knew it was just the beginning of something better.

He reaped victorious runs on the 2011 Long Teng Cup in picturesque Kaohsiung National Stadium and the friendlies against Singapore and Nepal. The 4-0 Nepal run was explosive enough that he made a leap twice his height. (We know we have seen Aly jump like that already, and it sparks joy to our faces.)

All things went well until the unexpected happened.

When I first saw the look of the Kaya FC skipper after he fell down and crouched and groaned at the same Rizal pitch during their match with Diliman FC that Saturday afternoon, I was alarmed. That pain in his right leg must have been extreme for him to bear. It could be something worse.

And yes, the unexpected happened. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Everyone was shocked and worried about Aly. Numerous well wishes were sent to his Facebook fan page and Twitter account. A lot of cheer-me-ups were given to this guy. But it will never hasten the reality that his injury will take half-a-year at least to heal.

Now his long, excruciating wait from the sidelines will bring a massive hole in both his club and the national team. With the upcoming 2012 AFC Challenge Cup finals in Nepal, it will be uncertain if Aly will be leading the team.

Says my fellow from the Usapang Football forums, aptly named "wiking":

Even if he is up and about just before the AFC CC finals, It's doubtful he will be match fit, but I'm hoping for a happy ending so even if he can play 20-25min a game would be great especially against a team that doesn't pressure well.
So far 5 months away we've got the locals(barring injuries in the UFL season): delRo, Sabio, Fernandez, Leonora, Unabia, Basa(capped), Barbaso(anyone else I failed to mention?). James Yh, but I'm hoping he stays at mid(coach!!!!)
Speculation 1: Maybe Oliver P, since he plays for an amateur and lower tiered(6th) team, same with Rob G(9th), might be able to come on down for the AFC games??? Yes Rob isn't that fast anymore but then again his speed was only exposed against a very very good team in Kuwait. We are not facing any team of that caliber in the AFC competition, plus his veteran presence, leadership and familiarity with the players and coaches should help. I dare say he could be a 'Captain' of the defense at the very least.
Speculation 2: Dan 'the Man' Palami, surprised us with Carli and OP, could they surprise us again? There are still 5 more months to wait...
The Bad: The Superliga starts its season in March 6. That concerns Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara folks. 2.Bundesliga(aka Stephan S and Rolan Mueller) will have games on going in March. Carli's, Tercera division will also be in league play at this time
The Good??: The Icelandic premier league season is off in March and resumes in May. Ray Jonsson should be around. Rolan Mueller if he doesn't get to be promoted 2nd GK for MSV Duisburg should still be able to come. Looking at it through MSV's perspective, by him playing in the AFC should gain him valuable playing time without loaning him out(just putting a positive spin on things gents).
The NT is used to playing with a holding midfielder, that gives us 5 players on defense that should help overall. As the coach and Mr Palami has said, maybe borrowing a player for 1 or 2 games can help. If we can't have them for the whole duration but maybe against a 'stronger' team we can schedule them to come down.
Your thoughts...
add: If Jason de Jong doesn't put himself in coach W's doghouse again, he playing in the March '12 games should be a great possibility. He is playing for a youth team now(unless he gets promoted) so obviously playing in an international like this would be better competition for him than playing another youth team. His team should be happy for him to gain more experience this way. Again I'm just putting a positive spin on my speculation.

We are hoping everything will be set in place while Aly won't be around.

Aly will be dearly missed. But then, he is after all El Capitan.

KENNETH

Special Problem: The Proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:23:00 +0000

Hello folks!

It's been a turbulent semester for me lately, that's why I have not been blogging here for the past few months, but I was able to post things in my Tumblr log to keep myself going. On my Tumblr log was all about the Azkals and their rise to fame, not to mention some comic relief from all the stress of schooling.

Anyways, this semester marked the start of my very challenging journey towards graduation from UP Mindanao.

And it starts with my Special Problem Proposal.

All the ideas were pouring in from all sides, from algorithm studies, the UPMin CSRS, biodiversity systems and many others. But one thing came into my mind... my contribution to Himati, our University's official student publication.

I am a member of the publication since last academic year and it paid off with a successful run of my video blog The ISKOnnector. But things have changed lately and I have changed my intentions as I rejoined the team this year. I was now there to help revamp Himati.

I am saddened that Himati could not set its plans really well considering our campus has only a meager population. We are short of funds, short of staff, but we were not short of hope that one day, Himati will be recognized as a pioneer in promoting Journalism 2.0 in the Davao region.

We have started it with Himati's Facebook and Twitter sites, HimatiVlogs, and the electronic version of Himati via Scribd. Now that the first steps have been stabilized, now it's the time to move forward.

We have been planning to make an official website for Himati. All the funds and assistance have been in place, but no-one cared about how to maintain it and how to implement it. There I said to myself, "I have to give Himati more than a website, more than a Content management system-backed platform. I want to give them an computerized system to do their processes including those of the print publication. Something to make Himati and other student publications can use and enjoy."

So I planned the topic to be:
"A Web Portal for Student Publications..." (Sorry I can't give you the title in full...)

And I will christen the final product to be iHimati.

A system that will help Himati ease up the process of submitting and evaluating articles, and communication through social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

I envision the system to be the a new way for Himati staff to process articles and enhance communication. I'll construct it with a two-tier architecture - a public layer which contains the official website and the the content of the Facebook and Twitter sites. The private layer, on the other hand, will be the backbone system wherein the staff can submit articles, evaluate articles, manage staff members and communicate through social media tools.

During the proposal process, I had a very difficult time searching for literature as there are few published academic papers that focus on the combination of journalism process with computing technology. All I know is that major news outputs such as wires like Associated Press, Reuters and Agence-France Presse use proprietary technologies to process their news.

What I want is a open-source and low-cost alternative - which will greatly benefit small organizations such as Himati.

The hard part was to explain the intricacies I want to convey for the system. All the diagrams, database illustrations and all other drawings I had to produce to make the paper as clear as possible.

Well, it had been a bloody ride there, but I had survived as I was able to reach the point that I defended the proposal.

And I can't thank enough for this than to my family who supported me all they way no matter what circumstances I have gone through this past semester.

And I thank the LORD for everything He has done for me this far. Thank You for the strength.

On to the finish line!

KENNETH

Philippine Jeepneys and the Homeless World Cup

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:59:00 +0000

Filipinos have been keeping their eyes glued to football (or soccer) these past few months after the senior national football team, the Philippine Azkals, grabbed local, national and international headlines since their miracle victory in Hanoi, Vietnam during the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. Fans, supporters, sponsors and funds started to pour in from all sides since then, and changed the Pinoy's world-view of football forever.

Although the Azkals recently failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, football fanatics in the Philippines continued to believe that football is being reborn and being cultivated as it was overshadowed by basketball in the past century. High hopes have been made for football to make ground in the country, and it will start with the improvement of local leagues and grassroots development, and the increasing media coverage of local and international football leagues to the Pinoy masses.

At this time of posting, Filipino footie fans are now keen in supporting the Philippine contingent to the annual Homeless World Cup, held this year in Paris, France. Nicknamed the Philippine Jeepneys (named after the most ubiquituous form of public transport in the country), they compose of mainly local players from different parts of the country. But what makes this team special is that all these players are currently homeless. That means, they don't have a permanent home to live in and no decent work or education, (and a few of them have no relatives to support them). These attributes make up some of the qualifications for playing in this charity-backed football tournament.

With them is coach Rudy del Rosario, a former skipper of the national team in the mid-1990s and currently the coach of United Football League club Kaya FC (where prominent national players like current skipper Aly Borromeo and defender Anton del Rosario are currently in). He and his coaching staff have been searching for potential players since late last year in key cities in the country like Manila, Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Around 250 to 270 players joined in the tryouts.

He says that the most important thing that the team takes away in the tournament is "the pride and honor of representing our country in a big international event, and knowing that in spite of their current life situation we are just all the same human beings everywhere."

With the team in Paris is Azkals team manager Dan Stephen Palami, who has been called the "saviour of Philippine football." Recently, Palami treated the team with some food from KFC (yes, that Kentucky Fried Chicken) and a city tour around Paris, something that these underprivileged kids will never forget. Seems that Dan Palami, who is in fact an Accounting graduate of University of the Philippines Diliman, is really devoted to keep the spirits of these footballers alive through his apparent generosity.

As they conquest for success, the Philippine Jeepneys will also pursue to gain their status in life through this tournament. After the competition, they will be expected to be assisted as they transform into better individuals. Opportunities for education and work, livelihood assistance and even stints with local clubs and national teams will be in store for them. Since the Philippines' first stint in the Cup in the Melbourne games in 2008, many of these players lives have been changed and their football careers improved. Now that Philippine football has been showering with sponsors and supporters, the future is even brighter for these kids.

These grassroots players are part of the future of Philippine football. We should support them every step of the way in the competition. Who knows when these players will also play for the Azkals someday? Only God's time will tell.

Mabuhay Pilipinas Futbol! Mabuhay Philippine Jeepneys!

Why not watch the Homeless World Cup online? They now offer online streaming of all their games (fixtures, as called technically) through the Internet. For more of the action visit http://www.homelessworldcup.org/paris-2011/video

Want to get this widget for your blog or website? Click here for details.

Para sa manlalarong Pilipino,
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Accents (4)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:47:00 +0000

I should have stopped the Azkals Accents series a few posts back. But, there are still a lot of people I want to commend with with their accents, or their manner of speech. As I said here, being a cultural melting pot, Filipinos have to embrace everyone's accent, and not ridicule it.

I want to commend first the "Iceman," Ray Anthony Jónsson, a Filipino-Icelandic.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

In this above video during their 2nd leg match vs. Indonesia in the AFF Suzuki Cup semis last year, I watched the interviews of Oxford-speaking Rob Gier, Dutch anglophone Jason de Jong and Estuary-speaking Neil Etheridge.

But what caught my attention is Ray Jónsson, who spoke in Cebuano. He may be born from an Icelandic father (a rare feat in fact; you won't find a lot of Fil-Icelandics out there), but he got the privilege to learn Cebuano when he lived in Liloan, Cebu until age 8 because of his Cebuana mother. Around in the middle of the video, he spoke to fellow Cebuano Chino Trinidad, "important kaayo ang game karon, hopefully maka-score kita, duha ka goals." (Today's game will be important, we hope that we would score two goals.)

Icelandic is a Scandinavian language, and a heavily glottal and alveolar one. So you will really notice the heavy accent he does to his Bisaya. The plosives /b/, /d/, and /g/ are voiceless and differ from /p/, /t/ and /k/ only by their lack of aspiration. So you will notice it's heavy and thick-sounding. Nevertheless, it's interesting indeed he speaks another Filipino language.

Now, let's go to Filipino-Scottish Azkals trainee and U-23 hopeful Mark MacMahon.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

In this video of some the team members taking cameo roles for an upcoming movie, we see mixed-accent Aly Borromeo, and Ilonggos Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta. But what made special was Mark MacMahon, who was raised in Glasgow, Scotland to a Scottish father and Filipina mother.

In Scotland, English is blended with the phonology of Scots languages, most especially Gaelic. So you will notice the distinctions of the Scottish accent in contrast with the accents of England. /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/ are distinct, /or/ and /ur/ are contrasted, and /ʊ/ is replace with Scot-sounding /u/. I actually admire standard Scottish pronunciation of English more than all other accents in the UK. Its very pleasant yet not that farmer-ish.

Well, I really appreciate how these men come from diverse parts of the world and coming together to promote football in the Philippines. At sana nga matututo sila ng kahit mga basic na kaalaman sa aking Pambansang Wika para mabigyan sila ng karunungan at mapalaki pa ang kanilang pagmamahal sa bansang Pilipinas.

Cheers,

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals vs. Philippine Dragon Warriors

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 07:46:00 +0000

Here's a repost from a Tumblr log about comparing the Philippine National Football Team, the Azkals, and the Philippine National Dragon Boat Racing Team, the Dragon Warriors:

Why compare NT Azkals to the Dragon Boat Team▬crab mentality strikes

These past few days,I’ve seen some posts about the comparison between Azkals and Paddlers. It’s getting viral;from twitter,facebook and now here in tumblr. I just don’t get it when they compare those two different Sports Team.

It goes like

Sasagwan ka ba sa karangalan o sisipa sa papogian?

PH Dragonboat team (2011) : 5 Golds, 0 commercials, 90% Pinoy
Azkals : 0 Golds, 0 trophies, 5 TV ads, 20% Pinoy

this issue is really getting into my bones!!

Azkals didn’t got this far because of their looks alone,for your information they went from nothing;nothing as in NOTHING.

1st of all,its not easy for a football team to get a gold medal.I mean in football they have lots of qualifying rounds before they compete to the finals.

2nd,don’t blame the Azkals for having tons of product endorsements,TV ads etc. They’re not the one who went to those product company and beg to get them as the endorser..deal with it▬they’ve got the looks.

lastly the percentage of the Pinoy blood is ridiculous, 20% for the Azkals;the fact that most of them were half-breeds.

(So let say that the team only has 50 players and all of them were half-breeds. The Pinoy blood percentage of the whole team should be 50%,since they’re all half Pinoy.)

Why compare the Football team to the Dragonboat team;why can’t they just support all teams that represent the Philippines. Besides both teams strived so hard just to get where they are now.

▬Crab Mentality has to stop▬

Here's my few cents to this issue.

The Azkals started out with nothing too. They had no support whatsoever even if they had these (admit it, people) good-looking players.

Azkals' team captain Aly Borromeo, a Spanish mestizo by lineage, would tell local media that the team used to sleep in undesirable conditions you could imagine. Whether it could be the bleachers of a stadium, sidewalks that "smell like piss," anywhere there's somewhere to lie your head on except a matress and a pillow, that's where they slept when they had no financial and moral support.

Some members of the Dragon Warriors also confessed that they had trained in dire conditions, like the murky waters of Manila Bay and the Pasig River. They had no funds for them to eat a decent meal. They bring canned goods and instant noodles as meals on their trips.

Same thing with the Azkals, right?

That's how this country is prioritizing the sports programs, relishing more in basketball and boxing, than to more popular and more contemporary sports like football and dragon boat racing.

Alright, let's target 3 key points of this argument:

Sponsors and Commercial Endorsements

Up until now, a lot of people have been complaining how these men (including their current coach Michael Weiß) had gained popularity through commercial endorsements.

In the name of commercialization and profitability, and for the sake of helping the team in terms of finances and other forms of support, there will naturally come commercial endorsements. If the team does sell because of their skills and not just looks, these men have the potential to sell and be sold for more funds to come in to help in their trainings, their travels, the tournaments they will undertake.

It's not just because of their looks or physique, it's their dedication for them to play better. And take note: they had these endorsements boom only after they did sell. And it's not because of the Younghusband brothers who came before the others like Aly Borromeo and Neil Etheridge, who are now endorsing underwear! James and Phil did sell but not significantly beforehand.

For the Dragon Boat team to sell, they have to prove themselves worthy. And they did. A lot of companies are already tapping the team, such as Cobra Energy Drink of Interbev, a subsidiary of Asia Brewery. It's still beginning, and they'll be like the Azkals as well in the near future. They have the physique and the brawn, and that's good for them, too.

Awards

Dragon boat racing is way to different from football (or "soccer," as most Americans call it.). Many would say it can take forever to score a goal in football. There are a lots of possibilities for a scoreless fixture. But that makes it more exciting.

Sport is more than just the physical aspect: height, speed, stamina and strength. It's also a mental and an emotional challenge, which entitles its players to think, strategize, and plan. It can break them down or lift their spirits up.

And that makes each of them unique in every way.

Their Filipino identity

Like I said in a previous post, the Azkals, together with the Dragon Warriors, have all the reasons to call themselves Filipino, regardless of what racial mix they have.

Why complain about their ethnicity? Why complain about the color of their skin? Why complain about their beefed-up physique? Why complain about their accents?

Check your kokote, people. There is nothing to complain about.

Why not ask basketball cagers Chris Tiu and James Yap who are Filipino-Chinese, or a bunch of Fil-Americans in the PBA? Why not ask your lovely Fil-American actor Gerald Anderson and Fil-Chinese actress Kim Chiu? Why not ask your favoured beauty queens Malay-infused Miriam Quiambao and Arab-infused Maria Venus Raj? Why not ask a classmate who happens to be a foreign exchange student? Why ask a number of Igorots, Aetas, Maranaos, T'bolis, Tausugs, and all other indigenous peoples around?

Are they part of this nation, too? Yes, indeed they are. Including the Azkals and the Dragon Warriors.

They chose to represent the country. It's already a cliché already to see people bash these lads. It's irritating and heartbreaking to see our own people crushing each other. It's devastating to see people show off their crab mentality and chauvinism to bring down these people whose intention is to improve whatever potential field this country has, in sports, in the arts and the sciences, and in the cultural aspect.

So please, whoever you are, stop being a basher.

As President Noynoy Aquino would say in his 2011 SONA, crab mentality has to stop.

We need a place to breathe. We need a place to improve. So there is no reason to block them off.

Cheers,
KENNETH

What I've Been Doing Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:37:00 +0000

Hello there!

As I am about to finish my studies in UP Mindanao, I am to develop a system that should contribute to the software development community and the I.T. community in general.

While I've been appreciating the Philippine National Football Team, known more as the Azkals, I've been very busy on how I'll be taking more opportunities of improving myself as a future changemaker in the IT industry through my studies.

During the past few months, I've been already thinking on what I want to do for my Special Problem. Then I've been thinking more of our University's student publication, Himati.

Right there and then, I was already thinking of a system that would help the publication improve its coverage and its reach to the UP community and beyond.

During the previous semester, for our CMSC 128 (Software Engineering) class, I developed a Publication Content Management System for the publication. (Seen on the above image). The system intended to help the writers and editors to manage the articles brought up by the publication.

While it was not fully implemented around Himati, it was just a starting point of something better.

The publication gave me a new position in the publication. I'm now newly assigned as the Website Development Director. This means my new job for Himati is to develop the official website of the publication.

But with the system I've made last semester, I thought of making something better.

Why not develop a web portal?

A web portal or links page, like the likes of Yahoo!, AOL and Netvibes, is a website with integrated features such as search, e-mail, news, and the others. With that in mind, I plan to make a multi-platform system for the publication, combining inner processes of Himati, and the web services used such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

I envision a Himati that is reaches more people, a Himati that crosses borders of social media, a Himati that encourages contributions from its audience.

With this system I'll be developing and proposing as a Special Problem, I hope it will improve the coverage of the publication and increase the prominence of UP Mindanao in the community.

Wish me blessings!

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Accents (3)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:11:00 +0000

This is the 3rd installment of posts regarding the accents of the Philippine Azkals. Click for the 1st post and the 2nd post.

On my previous post, I talked about the Estuary English of Neil Etheridge, Phil Younghusband and James Younghusband, the Californian accent of Anton del Rosario, the Dutch manner of speaking by Jason de Jong, and Persian cliques of Misagh Bahadoran.

By now, let's cure more of your curiosity.

Many wonder how the recent goal-maker for the team, Fil-German midfielder Stephan Schröck, and the German coach Hans Michael Weiß (pronounced as /'vaisz/, also spelled Weiss) speak English. Well, I wondered, too, how they speak when I first heard of them. Luckily, I found a video from a TV Patrol report. (Last interview clip shows James Younghusband, the Middlesex boy.)

Anyhow, Stephan, while having a deep but sharp, gritty voice, has a thick German accent. His glottals and dipthongs are typical of a south German (He hails from Fürth, in Bavaria); /g/ and /t/ are sharp, /ai:/ and /oi:/ are fluid.

On the other hand, the Dannenfels, Rhineland-Palatinate native Weiß has a thicker accent, mainly because of his countryside origins. His alveolars are not strong, glottals and velars are prominent, and the short-E split exists typical of German amateur anglophones.

And common to these two, they don't seem to velarize /l/ and /r/. But they're comprehensible at least; we still understand what they are saying. (I'll find a video clip sometime with the non-native English speaking Azkals speaking in their "mother", er, "father" tongue.)

Let's now go to the locals.

The above video is a clip from TV Patrol Negros, so the report is in Ilonggo, also known as Hiligaynon. This was about their game vs. Mongolia at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod. Here the almost-Oxford-sounding Rob Gier commends Barotac Nuevo-native midfielder Chieffy Caligdong as the "man of the match." Then Chieffy comments in Ilonggo that he takes the game seriously.

You can tell that Chieffy has the phonology of Hiligaynon and Kiniray-a (a sub-dialect common to people outside Iloilo City in Panay). This language or dialect is very particular with stressing syllables and intonations have to be clear. The vowels /e/ and /i/ are usually interchanged in some words, and /g/ and /k/ are velar. You will be able to notice it when he tries to speak Tagalog.

Now this above video depicts forward Ian Araneta talking on his experience in Kuwait before their 1st leg match there. Ian is also from Barotac Nuevo, and he also has the phonology of Ilonggo creeping in his Tagalog. Never mind that anyway.

Now this video depicts second choice goalkeeper Paolo Pascual. He is speaking here about being in the Philippine Under-23 team and the Azkals. He hails from Cebu City; therefore, he has the accent of a Sugbuanon or Cebuano. Native Cebuanos sometimes have difficulty in conversing with Tagalog-speaking people due to strict implementations of speaking Cebuano (or Bisaya to most Filipinos) in the island province. While it is so, Paolo, like younger Cebuanos of this generation in which Tagalog is sometimes mixed into their school curricula, can sometimes lose distinctions of Cebuano. While the velars and glottal are thick like /g/, /k/ and /l/, his vowels are loosely resembling Tagalog in which /e/ and /i/ are not stressed.

Now, the wrap-up.

Skipper Aly Borromeo's accent might make a non-Filipino linguistics junkie go ask "Is he from Spain or is he from Ireland?" (citing his occasional open aired /e:/ in "best" or "name", or his velarized /k/ in "scraps".) Or non-linguists here in the Philippines might just conclude that the accents of Neil, Phil, James, Simon, and Rob are the same "sexy, nosy British" variant, or Jason Sabio's and Anton's are the same "American" tone. Or "expert anglophone" people would laugh at thick European or Middle-Eastern accents of Jason de Jong, Misagh, and Stephan. Or Tagalogs might despise the vowel switching of the Ilonggos Chieffy and Ian, and Cebuano Paolo. This is often percieved as discrimination or racism. It might make people like or dislike these people.

Nevertheless, they are Filipinos. Filipinos by choice, then Filipinos by right. They chose to play for the Philippines, no matter what their color of their skin is, what culture they are brought with, or what language they primarily speak.

It's about dedicating themselves to the nation.

It's about promoting the once-popular football that captured many Filipino hearts.

It's about making football known in this basketball-crazy nation.

They desire unity among the Filipinos all over the world.

And that is what makes them unique.

Cheers, Azkals! We believe.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: A Heartbreaking yet Inspiring Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Angel Guirado Aldeguer hugs a crying Misagh Bahadoran after their loss to Kuwait on 28 July 2011. (interaksyon.com)

It's finally over. Their dream to reach the 2014 World Cup has finally come to a heartbreaking but inspiring end.

After a 5-1 aggregate in favour of Kuwait, all hopes broke down as the Philippine National Football Team or the Philippine Azkals bowed down to Middle East superpower the Kuwait Al-Azraq for the home leg of 2nd round of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Although a glimmer of hope was lit as German 2nd Division Bundesliga midfielder Stephan Shroeck striked a 25-yard goal at the last minute of the 1st half, it was backfired by goals by Yousef Naser and Waleed Jumah on the 2nd half.

Indeed, it was not yet their time.

How heartbreaking their loss be, the cheering Filipino audience at the Rizal Memorial Stadium never stopped chanting "Azkals! Azkals!" in support of their national team, together with a standing ovation. It was nevertheless a proof of the Azkals winning Filipino hearts and bringing their consciousness to football.

Over the web at that moment, the hashtag #azkalswebelieve trended worldwide on the social microblogging site Twitter. Messages of support, sympathy, and affection poured in from all walks of life in the social web. No wonder Filipinos have this much support that can shake the world by storm. Other nationalities might wonder who they are, what teams they have battled with, and the challenges they have gone through if this continues.

This is just the beginning of marking football as one of the sports in which the Filipino can shine and unite. From their outstanding win in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, to this inspiring loss in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, these fixtures have struck the consciousness of every Pinoy who believed in them. Who knows what goes ahead of them.

For now, the Azkals will focus on the following competitions:

AFC Challenge Cup
AFF Suzuki Cup
Long Teng Cup
The 1st ever Manila Beer Cup invitational games

...and the list goes on.

The Philippine National Football Team have gone a long way. This was the first World Cup qualifier they participated in eight decades. Maybe in the future editions of the World Cup we would finally see them play in the finals.

It's not yet now. It will be on God's own time.

Tuloy ang laban! We believe!

Cheers,
KENNETH

Of Philippine Football and Hooliganism

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:28:00 +0000

"Football hooliganism is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans."- Wikipedia

I do not know (yet) how to play football (soccer in the US). I intended to enroll on a PE course of football in where I am studying, but my schedules and finances didn't allow me to. I watch football every time CNN or BBC reports about some team/club plays against this team/club. I am actually bored at the constant wins of Manchester United on the English Premier League, or how national teams played head on during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (which I religiously followed via CNN's extensive coverage). But my journey to be a follower for football skyrocketed when the Philippine national football team a.k.a. the Azkals qualified for the semi-finals in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.

The Azkals led me to know that the Philippines, known to be religious in basketball and boxing, can compete in this world-famous sport. This sport led met to know how social media (my current interest for my study) can impact the popularity of this football team which composes of men from local and foreign football clubs, many of which are prominent including Fulham and Chelsea, the same clubs BBC would talk about during EPL. This team led me to know how to study the spread of social media messages in the form of graphs or trees (as we define it in Computer Science) and how they affect the knowledge of its users. These events led me to appreciate the sacrifices, the losses and the victories the Azkals have gone through in a short span of time.

Now they are eyeing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, I am getting a realization that football in the Philippines is getting a renaissance, a re-thinking. a re-realization. We used to play football and rise in football until America took hold of our nation. We thought of rising in basketball which we are still not capable to rise and shine as of now. We are now seeing a paradigm shift in sport.

Aside from that, these equally good-looking men, some come from foreign lineages like in Britain, Germany, Spain and America, and some come from all walks of life in the Philippines, are true to their intention to play for a nation who looks at football as a sport only for rich kids like golf or sailing. Some of these men sacrificed their careers at their high-profile clubs to represent this third-world country. This is a breakthrough for us, as this is an impossible task.

Now they are facing a Goliath team, Kuwait, they should be prepared for a tough road ahead if ever they would win against them in this second round of the qualifiers. Also, players from prominent clubs are to be prepared for this unexpected thing we call hooliganism.

Hooliganism is violence common in professional sports, especially football. It ranges from slurs and shouts, to fistfights and brawls, to shootouts and stampedes that can claim lives. Hooliganism stems either between rival football clubs or between rival national football teams. Hooliganism has been the cause of football's worst disaster to date, the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989, a disaster which sourced between fans of Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. This disaster claimed 96 lives and injured 766 others, making it the deadliest and the most violent in history.

I do hope disasters like this won't happen when the Philippine team will have an equal share of successes in the sporting scene.

Filipinos are known to be emotional and celebratory people. When someone from our country holds a victory, we rejoice with them. But at a time they lose in the race, we turn our backs and mock them or the other team that made them lose. We tend to have a crab mentality, utak-talangka, that tends to let our own people down. This mentality has destroyed our society for ages.

With the recent victories of the Azkals, they are to expect hooligans to arise against their fans, maybe from other countries, or even from our own race. They are to expect fans to fight against each other either with racial slurs, condemnations, blame-throwing, or worse, fistfights or killings. We must not let this happen. The Philippine government must act to protect the lives of the Azkals and the Azkaleros, the Azkals fanatics. They are to protect the dignity of the team and the sport they are representing. We are to be responsible.

If the Philippine Azkals ever proceed to the World Cup, we are to prepare. We are to be vigilant against those who are to destroy our team, our enthusiasts, and our country.

KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Accents (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 07:01:00 +0000

This is Part 2 of a series of posts about the Philippine Azkals' accents. Click here to go to my 1st post.

Hello there, Azkaleros!

Well, my previous post talked about the accents of some prominent members of the Philippine Azkals, the men's national football team. Last time we talked about Aly Borromeo's accent that's like a mix of Californian, Hispanic and Bisaya. We appreciated the ruff-and-tuff Southeastern American accent of Jason Sabio. We are tickled by the quirky Sussex accent of Simon Greatwich. And we do love the almost-Oxford-standard accent of Rob Gier.

Now let's get into another set of players. First up, the prime goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, the 21 year-old lad from London. Now, let's go back to that video starring him in 2008 (We'll observe, too, the other person interviewed here.)

As I've been observing his interviews every now and then, I am able to think that Neil's delivery of the language is close to what they call Estuary English. Estuary English refers to the dialect commonly encountered through South East England, particularly among the young and the working-class. It's called as such since it refers to those living in the estuary of the river Thames. Distinctions include /T/-glotallization (/T/ is heard as glottal rather as alveolar), broad /ɑː/, intrusive /R/, H-dropping and /l/-vocalisation. That's why you can really tell that he's from London and he's young that you can distinguish him from the elder Londoners.

Side note: The other person interviewed in the video is Phil Greatwich, brother of Simon Greatwich. Like I said in the previous post, he also has the Sussex accent like his brother.

Next stop: Anton del Rosario, the 29-year-old defender from San Francisco, California. The video below shows Anton promoting Alter-Space, a Facebook app made by Filipinos.

While preserving Californian distinctions of American English unlike his fellow Aly Borromeo, he somewhat tends to go near making /ɪ/ and /æ/ distinct, and do occasional glottal stops. Many would say Californians of Filipino descent tend to mix some features of Philippine English, that is /t/, /d/, and /g/ are glottal than alveolar.

Next, Phil and James Younghusband. They're born in Middlesex, South East England. So, you do expect Estuary English, right? Not quite.

In this above video from loqal.ph and Yahoo! Philippines, Phil and James teach football to young kids as part of their job as co-founders of the Younghusband Football Academy. Apart from that, their accents are quite interesting as well. Although somewhat very close to Estuary English as Neil, being West Londoners (as opposed to being North Londoner as Neil) makes their accent close to someone from the Midlands of England. Theirs /t/-s are alveolar, their /aʊ/ is prononunced, and they have yod-coalescence. However, it's interesting and not bad at all; it sounds pleasant anyways.

Next up, let's give the floor to some of the team's non-native English speakers. We'll get into Filipino-Dutch midfielder Jason de Jong, and Filipino-Iranian forward Misagh Bahadoran. Below videos are interviews they took before their match versus Kuwait.

Since Dutch and English belong to the same Germanic language family, many people in the Netherlands are able to converse in English properly. Jason de Jong's accent closely resembles the accents of many Dutch anglophones which tend to somewhat miss to velarize /l/, and his dipthongs are close to Amsterdam Dutch, but it's not badly delivered as opposed to those from cities close to Germany. Jason does it well, though.

Misagh's native tongue is Farsi (also called Persian). It belongs to the same family as Urdu and Dari. If you are able to study Farsi phonology, you would expect an Iranian to speak English in a style close to someone in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Their accent tends to flap or trill /l/ and /r/, /w/ tends to sound like /vh/, and they monophongitize some dipthonds like /au/ and /ou/. But in the case of Misagh, it's a little jilty but comprehensible.

That's it for now. Coming up, we'll be knowing about the accents of our full-blood Filipino players. We'll scrutinize the Hiligaynon accents of Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta, the Sugbuanon glides of Paolo Pascual, the Manilenyo Tagalog of Christopher Camcam and many more. So, stick around, fans!
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: The Accents (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Hey, fangirls.

We just like to scrutinize every foreign-based Philippine Azkal's English accent. We just have to like it. It just means that Filipinos have diversity of linguistic ethnicities. We're a melting pot of sorts. Pinoys abroad are melting pots, figuratively.

In this above video, four Azkals members, Aly Borromeo, Jason Sabio, Simon Greatwich, and Rob Gier greet during their photoshoot for Metro Society magazine. Aly and Jason are based in America; Simon and Rob are based in Britain. Well, they have different accents at the continental level, but how do their accents distinct from each other? So how do we start from here?

Aly, the captain, is born in San Francisco, California. So I expected when I heard of him for the first time that he would speak Californian twang. But, no. He actually spent most of his teenage years in the Philippines since he played for the U-19 teams of UFL for the 2000 AFC Challenge cup. In an interview with Jessica Soho last January, there I was shocked to see him speak Tagalog. It's great to see the skipper communicate in our national language, and that's a good thing for a captain to communicate with both the locally-based players and his fellow foreign-based players. But it seems his accent has a mix of Hispanic/Kastila overtones, given that he is actually hailing from a Spanish mestizo bloodline. And also, his very thick glottals and emphasis on [k] and [æ] can make you think that he sounds more Bisaya than Tagalog.

Jason is born in Manila, but he and his family moved to Long Island, New York and later Hunstville, Alabama at a tender age. So he would probably get some South Central American accents which focuses on distinctions such as the diphthong /aɪ/ becomes monophthongized to /aː/, yod-dropping and deep rhotics. So yeah, he has that distinction. But he has a distinct New York twist with those alveolars and the short-A split there.

Simon, one of the three Greatwich brothers, is born in Brighton in Sussex, Southern England. In Sussex, some distinctions can be observed like switching /ai:/ and /oi:/, /ɾ/ ("double T") is emphasized, and /ou/ is elongated. Interestingly, he didn't lose those distinctions even if he's now based in an American soccer club.

Rob is born in Ascot, Berkshire, South East England, where his current football club is based. However, he now lives in Oxford, Oxfordshire, a town known for deep emphasis for Received Pronunciation or RP. Although he sounds a lot like RP, he has some loose fricatives very distinctive of counties bordering West London, and he quit loosens his /t/ and /k/ which is distinctive of Estuary English.

Maybe next time we'll focus on Neil Etheridge (who sounds a mix of Estuary and Sloane-speak), Anton del Rosario (who sounds Midwestern American), and the Younghusband brothers (who sound distinctively London but may feature Hertfordshire overtones). We might include the locals Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta as well who are Hiligaynon in distinction.

If you do have comments on my distinguishing of these boys based on their accents, just let me know on the comments section.
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: National Identity

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:08:00 +0000

It seems to me that some Filipinos do not yet understand why the Philippine National Football Team, also known as the Philippine Azkals, had to have Filipino-foreigners (half-Filipinos, half-Pinoy, mestizos, whatever you would call them) playing for the team.

Here are some of them:

1. Team captain and defender Alexander "Aly" Borromeo (photo at left), American-born Filipino with Spanish mestizo lineage from San Francisco, California.

2. Defender Anton del Rosario, Filipino-American from San Francisco, California,

3. midfielder James Younghusband, English-Filipino from South East England, and his brother;

4. forward Phil Younghusband, English-Filipino from South East England, and;

5. goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, English-Filipino from Greater London.

(Other mestizos are half-Castillan Spanish, half-German, half-Scottish, half-Dutch, half-Danish and plenty more.)

Why do they have to have them when the team has members who are purely locals? Here are some of them:

1. Team co-captain and midfielder Emelio "Chieffy" Caligdong (photo at right), a native of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.

2. Forward Ian Araneta, also from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.

3. Occasional goalkeeper Paolo Pascual, from Cebu City; and

4. Another occasional goalkeeper Christopher Camcam, from Metro Manila.

It's been rumored that conflicts have arisen among the Azkals' fans, the Azkals' critics, and even the Azkals themselves due to this issue of racial differences.

But was this importation of half-Pinoys significant enough to say that the team could, or rather could not, achieve what they are supposed to achieve?

According to African American social activist Malcolm X about racial discrimination in America:

"Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American."

If I take it to the Philippine setting, does this mean the likes of Aly, Anton, Neil and the Younghusbands do not have the Filipino identity? Could the stand of Malcolm X contradict the notion of racial diversity and national identity among a national group or entity? Do these men being here for the Philippine team make them Filipino?

Aly, Anton, Neil, the Younghusbands and the other non-locals can be the sit-ins of this dilapidated diner which is the Philippine National Football Team. Meanwhile, the locals could be the concessionaires or the regular customers, the "suki", of this diner. Considering to be the oldest team in Asia, it has not gained international attention until now. No-one has cared, no one. Until the international scene saw that this diner has not been completely shut down.

The sit-ins could have been enjoying the meals available at the diner, considering it doesn't have any significant government support yet at this time of writing. Like a typical Pinoy carinderia, where food is simple, not too boring, not too overwhelming, the sit-ins have come to relish what has remained of this diner in the past decades. The regulars would have shared to them the experiences of seeing the loss of customers, the bad critics, the underwhelmed public. However these experiences are now being redeemed by this carinderia's win against a number of top-class and prominent restaurants such as Singapore, Vietnam and recently Sri Lanka. The restauteurs of this team are making Filipinos dine in this place again, even if most of its potential customers will eat there for the first time. It's bringing back from its glory.

Let me quote a Facebook note from the Kaya Football Club, an association football club in the Philippines, that talks about what makes someone a Filipino:

What makes someone a Filipino? Do you need to be born here? Raised here? Or have Filipino parents to be considered Filipino?

Carrying our flag and wanting to be one should be enough to call someone Filipino. Yes I know there are rules and laws, but in reality, I have many friends that have no Filipino blood at all, but deep down inside you know and they know they ARE Filipino! And really, what makes Filipino a Pinoy?

It's our passion and characteristics that make us Pinoy, not we're we are raised or born, wanting to be a Filipino should be enough! And for our AZKALS wanting to play for our Country, whether half or not, entitles them to being Filipino!

I would rather be FILIPINO by CHOICE then by RIGHT!

National identity is very controversial here in the Philippines considering the years of colonial rule this country has gone into. And that popular Filipino adage rings a bell:

Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.

If Aly or Anton would have not have been calling themselves Filipinos who can eat adobo or pansit, and rather Americans relishing only on hamburgers and hotdogs, he would not be in a emerging team with a great potential. If Phil and James enjoy staying just where they are, playing with British men their age, then moreno kids of all ages would not have shared an appreciation for them. If Neil would have not thanked his Filipina mother enough, he would've been in the English Premier League playing for England, but would not be noticed that he has Pinoy blood in his veins.

Seriously, would you care if they weren't here?

Social identity is lost whenever one's behavior tends to skew towards a lineage prominent and appealing to the majority. However, if one looks back to where he came from, there comes a realization that he is not just a person fixed from the four corners of this world he lived with. He has to overcome the challenges to this world. Then and there he will go to where destiny calls for him.

And to the locals, paano tayo babangon kung ang mga isipan natin ay parang talangka, laging inaapakan ang mga nilalang na gustong bumangon sa hirap na dinanas nila sa buhay? Kung lagi na lamang tayong ganito, paano na ang ating pagtayo natin sa malaking daigdig na ito? Magiging talunan na lang tayo lagi?

Paano na kaya kung ang ating bandila'y wala nang saysay sa ating buhay?

Ito na ang tunay na laban para sa karangalan at sa tunay na pagiging Pilipino.

Laban, mga Azkals! Hanggang sa huling pagsubok!
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: Neil versus Neil

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:05:00 +0000

I came across a gorgeous (pun intended) photo of Fulham FC member & Philippine Azkals' goalkeeper Neil Etheridge via a fan Tumblr log.

Again, as what I ranted on my previous post, why do fans really exploit these beautiful men like him, huh?

But I was surprised to look at this when I came across a sneak-peek of FIFA '11 by a local sports blog:

As a computer scientist and as an enthusiast in computer graphic modelling, I wonder why the 3D designers of the EA Sports game did not observe the prominent features of this British-Filipino lad from London.

1. A wider pair of shoulders.

2. A bigger set of pecs.

3. A sharper jawline.

4. A rounder cheekbone structure.

5. An upwards spiky hairdo.

Why, oh why, these people don't innovate much in imitating at least these important features of this lad over here. But there will be apparently a patch that will include a fix for Neil's virtual self in the coming months.

And maybe at the release of FIFA '12, I wish they would include Aly Borromeo, Chieffy Caligdong, and Phil & James Younghusband! And include at least one Filipino football club in here (Kaya FC for instance?) 'Nuff said.

But nothing beats like the real NEIL ETHERIDGE.

Toodles!
KENNETH

Philippine Azkals: My 5 Cents

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:18:00 +0000

My brother tweeted this before the Azkals match against the Sri Lanka Brave Reds on July 3rd:

Puro pacute lang ang Azkals. Publicity2x eh di naman nag sa stand out. Kawawa naman ung ibang mas deserving at mas magaling na atleta jan. -@greenboyBSEE

I thought to myself this time: Is this skyrocketing fame of the Azkals a publicity stunt, or a beg for action?

While the Azkals' games were breathtaking, I can't help but think that the Azkals have not yet matured enough in terms of teamwork that Pinoys expect of them.

Here are my observations of them so far:

1. Leaderships are meant to be appreciated and emulated. Fil-Am team captain Aly Borromeo (#11 on the above photo) got a yellow penalty card in each of the 2 rounds of the qualifier leg. This made ground for him to be barred from playing at their match against Kuwait on July 23rd. In the first round of the leg, here's a fan commentary at the Azkals.com forums:

Borromeo's boot was so high that any [referee] with a good look at the challenge would watch in horror holding his red card like a wild west cowboy holds his gun (ready for a quick draw just in case). The light contact was enough to warrant a foul and the very high boot that, by the way, was nowhere near the ball was given a yellow card. Yes the contact was so minimal that it might not even be a foul but the boot was so high that the ref actually saw that minimal contact was enough the contact to stop the dangerous challenge Borromeo just made.

Even if the move was short of being a foul, this does not mean that he was careful enough of his actions. At previous games such as the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier, he almost got booked as well. Are we getting a aggressor of a captain? Are we too complacent or too confident about Aly's actions? Will his absence at the Kuwait game weaken the team's strength?

He has to define refinement when he gets back in the game. He is a leader after all. (And put our Pambansang Watawat in the right position, will you? It's not World War III yet.)

2. Being too aggressive won't get you around. Goalkeeper and Fulham mainstay Neil Etheridge (#1) is being targeted by critics at local sports forums and mainstream sports media due to him being "too aggressive."

The Sri Lankan defender didn't have the pace at all during the match. With the defender's loss of skill and that much yard space in mind, Neil would have had the attacker on his hands face-to-face. But no, he didn't. The attacker had that much yards to outwit him, like an instant penalty shot. The Brave Reds got that damn score of 1 because Neil was too aggressive that he missed out the real point.

Oh, you would tell me, "he should've charged the attacker!" But that's like having your cake and eating it too. It's impossible to resist. Are you willing to get a punishment for that? Are you willing to have a great loss to your team just for the sake of releasing your grunt?

While you're in Britain, young lad, enjoy your time home. Calm down a little. Don't waste your petrol. Keep your hot gas under your bonnet. We know you would do better.

3. While the head is away, the chest will play. Emelio "Cheiffy" Caligdong (#13) may take the captain's seat for a while since he's the co-captain of the team. (Duh.) While Aly's out because of those booking moments, the Ilonggo has to get the team on the straight path.

I do expect Chieffy to set strategies on how they would outwit the striker and forwards of the Kuwaiti team, and how to avoid the seemingly sharp-eyed goalkeeper (Neil, take note). The crown jewel team of the Middle East have all their stellar people around them, including their government.

PNoy government to support the team? Weh?! Malay natin. Ano kaya masasabi mo d'yan, Kuya Chieffy?

4. They need their inspirations. They do. What a sweet thing to know that Phil Younghusband (#10) is rumoured to be dating Filipina actress Angel Locsin! And his elder brother James (#7) is seen with a girl on his latest Twitter profile picture. And I can't help but smile seeing Chieffy's kid cheer for his team's win.

Most of all, we can't help but shed tears over Neil's British grandad (photo at right) who passed away during the Azkal's practice in Germany. At that moment, Neil could not keep his emotions as he proudly shares his mix of grief and happiness, as he dedicated his victory to his inspiration. Through that shirt with the photo of him and his grandad, it's just heartwarming to see how they keep on giving their all for the sake of someone dear. Seems quite Pinoy, isn't it? It doesn't happen a lot on pure Brit footballers I've seen for a while. I wonder why...

----------NSFW Alert!----------

5. Why are die-hard fanatics exploit their "yummy" bodies and faces too much? I do respect your appreciation, ladies and LGBT peeps. But, I'm a little scared of the billboard of Aly in Bench Body underwear (sans freckles on his face, washboard abs on show) over EDSA. It's a driver's threat to me, greater than the controversial "slim" Sharon Cuneta billboard.

But, wait. Experience? Karanasan? Phil started it all, and has all of that. Pau d'Arco EnerGO, Freego Jeans, Bench, BlackBerry, and a lot others exploiting his charming face and svelte build. Oh, and recently, Silver Swan Soy Sauce. That commercial I posted at an early post was commented a lot on YouTube. Someone said that it's OK for someone who was exposed to European-class dining to say eating with bare hands is "primitive." But the backfire of Ian Araneta (#23) saying "It's Pinoy style" doesn't ring a bell at all. In fact, in most tropical cultures, eating with bare hands is a way of life. Commonplace, for short.

With the counterpart vinegar Silver Swan Sukang Puti, James is just hilarious out there battling against TV and radio personality Winnie Cordero. (And I'm just hungry right now with those food.)

If you would ask me to comment on Neil Ethridge and Anton del Rosario (#4) on their starring appearance on the Cortal SQR commercial, I would say, it was just "so-so." But why fans on Tumblr logs keep on exploiting this seemingly rough-and-tough feel of this advert and scream "so GWAPO, so POGI" What's that thing they are talking about? The [trying-hard American] accent of Neil? The stripping off of hot (however you would define it) and sweaty Anton? I would rather guffaw at Manny Pacquiao while taking the similarly-formulated Alaxan FR (pronounced "a-lak-san eep-arr").

And yes, those fan Tumblr logs and gay blogs who exploited every Azkal's chiseled torso in photos, congratulations sa pagbuhay ng katawang-lupa ng nakararami, 'ika nga ni Aiai delas Alas.

Let's see then if they will overcome the crown-jewel Kuwaiti team. Azkals are underdogs, but I do believe that they can outwit them, if they know how to control their aggressiveness.

Then and there I will disprove my brother's critical tweet.

Kick. Believe. Win.

Cheers!

KENNETH

P.S. Check out this link on a commentary on sports programs in the Philippines: http://www.mulatpinoy.ph/homeless-azkals-a-commentary-on-sports-programs-in-the-philippines/.

Philippine Azkals: The Potential Skyrocketing Fame

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:48:00 +0000

Source:news.yahoo.com.ph/AP

On the 3rd of July 2011, the Philippine National Football Team, also known as the Philippine Azkals, beat the Sri Lanka Brave Reds with an aggregate score of 5-1, part of a series of World Cup 2014 Brazil qualifier matches.

Source: news.yahoo.com.ph/AP

My question is, is this a good omen for a potential rising fame of the Philippine team?

For the past decade, the Philippine National Football Team ranked in between 150th and 160th in FIFA world rankings. This is still a utterly low ranking considering the third-world nature of the country and its misuse of funds to cater to the athletics sector. However, with this victory of the team against another third-world country which at least have enough funds to cater to their athletes, this would therefore be a wake-up call to the Filipino sporting community to urge for support by the local government.

In addition, the entire football team is a mix-up of the best and the brightest of football (or soccer, if you live in America) locally and abroad. For instance, American-born team captain Alexander "Aly" Borromeo has participated in the 2004 Tiger Cup and has won goals during the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship qualifiers and recently at the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Iloilo-native co-captain Emelio "Chieffy" Caligdong is part of the Philippine Air Force football club and has teamed up and scored goals with Aly at the said qualifiers. London-born English-Filipino goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is a mainstay at the Fulham Football Club in Greater London, and is gaining media attention as he is expected to debut either at the English Premier League or the English Football League. Middlesex-native English-Filipino brothers Phil Younghusband and James Younghusband share successes both in the English football scene and the Asian football scene as well.

Aside from their sporting career, a few of the players enjoy themselves as commercial models. Phil Younghusband started early in his modelling career in late 2008 with his endorsements for a clothing line and a local pharmaceutical company. His elder brother James later followed with endorsements for local clothing brands. All others like Neil Etheridge and San Francisco-born Anton del Rosario later followed following their participation with the national team.

Just look at their recent commercial endorsements: a famous local brand of soy sauce and vinegar, and a brand of pain reliever.

It's not surprising that endorsements keep pouring in the team to be able to support them for their games. Many of the companies which products the Azkals are endorsing seem to drive massive support from them through the Filipino masses.

And a little note over there, with their exceptionally good looks (and, admit it, their sculpted body builts) in Pinoy standards, it's also not surpising enough that they are gaining fanatics, mostly women, in the actual scene and online. Fan blogs and Tumblr logs (and even gay blogs) in the Philippines praise these athletes for being "godlike," "squeaky clean," and "oh-so-yummy." These comments are also typical in the international football scene where fans shriek on David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo whenever they would take their shirts off and expose their bods.

Phil Younghusband, for instance, was the first of the team to be praised for his body and charming looks, during his first commercial stints in the Philippines. Now he is even linked with Filipina actress Angel Locsin. Thereafter his elder brother James followed, and was also equally praised following a recent endorsement with a Filipino clothing brand.

Aside from the "YH Brothers," as called by fans, other members of the teams are also endeared by the fans. Fil-Ams Aly Borromeo (the team captain) and Anton del Rosario are described to be the "rugged" and "tough-looking" of the team. Chieffy Caligdong is said to "keep his 'gorgeous' body in spite of being a daddy. (" The most endeared by far is 21-year-old Neil Etheridge. The Enfield Town-born goalkeeper is being described by fans as "sexy," yet keeping a "good-boy" image.

Speaking of Neil, this clip produced for ITV Sport describing the goalkeeper's commitment to Philippine football. On his decision to represent the Philippines, he states, to quote:

It took me a long time to decide. Obviously every boy's dream is to play for England at the highest level. But I thought, why not play for the Philippines? It's mum's side of the family as well. -Neil Etheridge, 2008

While wanting to represent Fulham, having a Filipino, and therefore Asian, lineage, encouraged him to join in the ranks of his fellows like Phil Younghusband (a fellow at Chelsea FC who encourage him to enter the team, aside from his Filipina mother) and to improve the emerging status of football in the Pinoy scene.

So, while these towers of power are rising in fame, are they really living up to become an Azkal?

I like to hear from you, tell me how you feel about this emerging team at the comments section below!

Believe we can.

Cheers!

KENNETH

My Twentieth

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:40:00 +0000

It's my 20th Birthday.

I am no longer a teenager.

I am no longer a kid.

I am an adult now.

My body may start to halt its physical growth processes.

My sexual functions will mature.

My face will start to have dark spots, open pores and fine wrinkles.

My peak deepness of voice will come forth.

My hairline may start to recede gradually.

Yes, my body might stop changing.

But my self will not stop changing.

I will fast-track my career.

I must finish my bachelor degree. Pronto.

I must find a job. A decent job.

I will find my love. In the perfect time.

I will follow Christ more. More and more.

His love never fails.

Oh, I am twenty.

No longer a teen. Twenty.

Live as long as you may. The first twenty years are the longest half of your life.
- Robert Southey

KENNETH

A Faster PC in 13 Easy Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Here on Kenneth Porio | the blog, I want to help you get the most out of your daily computing. So I managed to accept this e-mail from an avid reader on this blog to share his tips on how to make a PC even faster.

Here's an article from www.slow-computers.com's author Jesse on how to overcome those slow-ups on your Windows PC. (Spelling and grammar corrected for clarity, with emphasis added.)

No money wasted. Not a lot of applications downloaded. No more hours spent on learning complex operations how to speed up your system. Just thirteen simple tips anyone can perform!

1. Wallpapers that you use on your computer can make the whole system slower. Better use an essential plain one instead.
2. In the case of graphics cards, new drivers tend to increase system speed. So you also need to update your hardware drivers as soon as possible to speed up your pc.
3. Minimize a lot of programs at the same time reduce the overload on RAM.
4. For booting faster on your computer you need to go to C:\ and find the file Msdos.sys then remove the Read-Only option. After that, open Notepad and finally you need to go to the text 'Options' within the file and write AddBootDelay=0. To make it more faster you can set add Logo=0 that help to remove the Windows logo at startup.
5. While you are restarting your PC hold down Shift so that the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.
6. Animations turned off is a suitable tip for Windows XP because of its various scroll and fade effects that can use up memory. For this to work go to Display settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects tab. From there you can be able to adjust the animations made for your menu items.
7. Active Desktop turned off has a remarkable effect on speeding up your PC. Go to the Display properties and switch to the Web tab. From there you can disable the check mark that indicates that your wallpaper is displayed as a web page.
8. Intel's Disk Defragmenter for Windows can make data physically set in order on the drive so that applications will load faster. (Editor's note: I also recommend third-party defragmenters such as Smart Defrag 3 so your drive can defrag in the background)
9. By using the Advanced Power Management of the Control Panel you can put your computer in to Sleep/Standby or Hibernate mode in place of shutting down and restart. You can adjust how many minutes/hours you want to inactive your PC by this system.
10. Another important tip for speeding up your PC is benchmarking which is very useful on normal PC usage. It can provide information about how your PC components are performing, compared to other machines. SiSoft Sandra is an excellent software can do this job. (Editor's note: You can also use NovaBench which can publish your benchmark results online through a personalized account and compare it to thousands of machines all over the world)
11. Taskbar refreshes without restarting your computer by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del once, and double clicks on Explorer. This will refresh the Taskbar and makes the system faster.
12. Without pushing the button on your drive you can eject a CD quickly by right-clicking on the CD drive letter in My Computer and click Eject. It also helps to remove any icons from the CD drive.
13. When programs are running on startup it can slow down. To remove these unnecessary startup programs you need to check your Startup folder. Another way to do this is by running msconfig to eliminate programs from loading. Although it will take a long time for these programs to load, but you will finally see it on your screen in different tabs.

Author’s bio:
Definitely there are few more easy yet effective tips on enhancing slow pc performance, but Jesse promises to return with them later in a brand new article! Stay tuned for updates!
KENNETH

Losing the Chance

noreply@blogger.com (Kenneth Bernejay Porio) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:39:00 +0000

In today's current economic situation, many of this year's UPCAT passers would shun off the opportunity to study in the National University, the University of the Philippines.

With the tuition fees that skyrocketed since 2007, it has been a struggle for the poor but deserving students to enter the University. With the continuing reduction of the education budget by the past and present government, the University's population has slowly becoming from those who are well-to-do and deserving.

GMA News TV's State of The Nation files a report about a UPCAT passer who desired to enter UP Diliman, but unable to enter due to insufficient funds.

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For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

This is a wake-up call to all University students to see the reality that many potential people are unable to enter UP because of the expensive and exorbitant tution and other fees. They wish to be in our spots. They wish to be a cream of the crop. They wish to serve the people. But they can't.

Be responsible. Make the best of this opportunity. Let us be the true Iskolar ng Bayan the nation deserves.

Para sa Iskolar ng Bayan,
KENNETH