Monday, May 04, 2009

The Bond Between Filipinos and Pacquiao

It always surprises me how Manny Pacquiao has become part of the Filipino zeitgeist. While there's the negative PR (i.e. a mistress here and there) that inevitably befalls a famous personality, for the most part Pacquiao is well-loved in the country.

Last year, the start of the match seemed a good time (crime rate being nonexistent and all) to visit the local bookstore. By the time I got out of the bookstore and hailed the cab, the first response to me by the driver was that Pacquiao won the match. Yesterday, I hailed a cab after the match and we were cruising in traffic when another cab was parked beside ours. My taxi's driver looked at the other vehicle's driver and flashed him the hand sign for peace (which could also be interpreted as the victory sign). The other guy nodded and throughout all this, even though no word was spoken aloud, we all knew the message: Manny Pacquiao won against Hatton in two rounds.

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