The World Cup All Over the World, Except the Philippines

While the rest of the world gets delirious over the feverish World Cup, it's a different scenario altogether in the Philippines. While the FIFA World Cup is considered by many as the most popular sporting event in the planet, majority of Filipinos in contrast seem impervious to its charm. For example, a couple of days ago, England and the US provided audiences a glimpse of how feverish every match gets even in the qualifying rounds as they battled it out for supremacy (last time I checked, the two teams are tied in first place). Expats in the country flocked every bar to watch the event. Turn to cable channels and almost all international media provided unprecedented coverage as well. But check the Philippines. No turmoil. No craze. The mania is not even felt. It's business as usual in this country.

I feel sad that when less economically stable countries like Ghana and Cameroon have teams on the field that fans can cheer of, Filipinos simply gaze unwittingly and naively from afar. What happened? Is this a bad premonition of the Philippines being left out of the rest of the world?

They say this is a basket ball country. Ok, fine. But can we not be a foot ball country in the very near future as well? They say our size and built make us more suitable to compete for the latter game. But why don't we have any team in the World Cup?

I believe sports is an arena where a country's status - economically, politically, or otherwise - can be reflected. When a country dominates any major sporting event, it can be a reflection of its people's sturdy character, perseverance and socio-economic-political power. No wonder China invests so much in sports and in its athletes. Sports is a field where one's nationalism, and yes, power can be proudly displayed. So when we cannot shoot our way to the top, perhaps, we can start kicking our way to that elusive gold of international dominion, particularly in a highly competitive sports like football in which something this country has badly fared in the last three to five decades.