Were You CONVINCED?

During the past fights of Manny Pacquiao,
the text messages would fly fast and furious,
before, during, and after the fight,

from those watching PayPerView,
those listening to ringside AM radio coverage,
those monitoring the fight online,
and those who chose to slog through endless TV commercials.

The tone of the messages would vary wildly;
from cautious optimism,
swing to severe pessimism,
and ultimately, to wild elation.



It's very strange,
but yesterday, I only received ONE text message;
one single message the WHOLE day,

and my friend who sent it after the decision,
more than anything,
seemed relieved to get a reprieve.


I didn't feel that palpable Pinoy pride
that swelled in all of us after the Morales and Barrera wars.

It seemed to me that no one really
wanted to talk about the win over Marquez...



Now,
there's no argument that we deeply love Pacman and his fighting heart,
despite his Lito Atienza-led entourage
(sino magsusundo sa iyo sa airport, manny?)
and his well-documented Embassy shenanigans
(watch out for the Gucci Gang, pacman!);


however,
Filipinos are the most intelligent boxing fans
in the world,

and yesterday,
most of us realized, accepted,
and understood deep down,
that despite his being knocked down in the 3rd,

MARQUEZ WUZ ROBBED!