It’s probably the most important result we’ve ever had.  We’ve finally broken the long spell of frustrations and have made history once again.  As expected, the crowd was amazing yesterday – coming from different walks of life but all with the same passion for the team and the country.  Whether you’ve been following the team for the past five years or just last December, I’m sure you enjoyed every second of it and craving for more.

While I do believe that we all came to Rizal Stadium yesterday to see our beloved team play, we do have personal reasons for doing so.  I was there because I am a football fan for so long and have always dreamed of the moment we thrash an opponent in front of the home crowd.  Some went to the game to witness the festivities.  Some went to the game to witness the players take their shirts off.  Some came to the game to chant and drum with the Kaholeros.  One girl came to the game to see her rumored boyfriend play and score a goal.  Politicians came to the game because they need to be seen.  Some came to the game because it’s a social event for them.

But before you start accusing me of ranting and slanting fans for their reasons, I can tell you that this isn’t a rant.  I respect each and everyone’s reason for being there yesterday.  In fact, I won’t mind being there every day with the rest of the 12,800 crazy fans – rain or shine, win or lose.  While some have debatably more noble reasons than others for being there, I happen to know a friend who, without an inch of a doubt, just had to be there.

Last Saturday, I received sad news that my friend, who will be watching the game with me, lost his house in a fire the night before.  Although he was able to get his car out of the way, his family lost all of their belongings as everything was consumed by the fire which started from one of their neighbors.   It’s such a bad stroke of luck and my heart goes out to them.  He’s been a football fan for so long as well as his son who is also in his high school football team.  Understandably, his son is under a lot of stress because of this.  It’s hard to imagine losing my house in a fire and I can’t imagine how bad the kid must be feeling.

When I spoke to my friend last Saturday night, I was surprised to hear he’s still looking forward to the game.  From my point of view, it would be awkward to be there when you have a house you need to rebuild.  The time and money you’ll spend going to the game could go a long way in rebuilding what was lost.  I apologized to him for hearing the sad news and wanted to make sure if he’s really okay to go to the game.  He responded with such positivity that was pretty admirable – ‘it would be better for my kid to be there just to forget what happened even for a few hours, just for him to have something to cheer and think about.
 
After the game, my friend thanked me for bringing him and his kid to the game.  There were no words spoken about it but I truly admire how sports uplift anyone’s spirit regardless of the problems around us.

Somehow, the whole thing just puts life and sports in a perspective that has been heavily ignored by most – sports is just life’s playground.  Results don’t matter to some.  My friend and his kid just had to be there because life goes on.  We all have our own personal reasons of why we were there yesterday but for some, they just had to be there.