Prestige and Class

While surfing channels looking for local news, I stumbled upon the live broadcast of the UAAP Finals. Although I am not a certified “UAAP student” (i had a brief three an a half year stint with an NCAA school in the 90's), this year's finals had drawn unimaginable crowd.

Ateneo versus De La Salle.

Two prestigious schools. Two schools with a standard above the rest of the educative communities around Philippines. Two bitter rivals for the past decades, from the hard court to the business to the political jungle, alumni of both schools have been haggling it out between themselves on who went to the better school. Their distaste for each other have been immortalized from the NCAA where both schools had started and has continued until today. So, the battle for the basketball championship became interesting in a sort of way, fueling up the rivalries for the green and blue-blooded fanatics.

I was never that attentive of the UAAP happenings, except for last night, I think. The fact that I was an NCAA student, and a little bit of bitterness on my part for having not pursued to study at probably both schools(financial constraints) might have contributed to my lack of interest of the games. Even in college, I seldom watch the games, which is ironic since I came from a High School with 5 basketball courts(excluding the gymnasium), having also a football field and a swimming pool. It's not that I am unsupportive of my school but the games during that time really does have that disinteresting taste in them.  I hated our high-flying, slam-dunking all-star player, who does not have an idea where the West is. Yes, I bought tickets for the NCAA games before, and then I showed them to my PE Instructor, which would be the equivalent of 1 session's attendance, and then I went to the malls.

Last night was probably an exception. I was glued to the channel at the start of the 4th quarter, when the game where very much close since only 3 points separates the two teams. I do not have any idea about the dramatics during the early part of the game. I was merely a neutral spectator, watching the intensity of the game, the players, and the crowd at Araneta.

So, it was startling to witness how De La Salle “snubbed” the awarding ceremonies after the game. I know, it was a bitter pill the swallow - losing against an arch rival, perhaps questionable officiating as seen from other people's points-of-view, humiliation in front of your worst enemy – these are the things that a proud warrior would never wanted to happen.

I remember the saying I saw in one of the basketball courts I played years ago, printed on the walls, although I could not remember where. It goes like this:

“God does not look at how many points you have scored, rebounds you have snatched, or assists you have given... it's how you played the game...”

Obviously, we can easily achieve PRESTIGE, but we cannot teach CLASS.