On basketball fandom

A week after the PBA Finals and days after seeing this year’s slam dunk competition in the NBA. It has been a long while since I was a basketball fan. Last time I was into it Alaska dominated the league with an iron fist, with Abarrientos, Lastimosa, Hawkins, Juinio, et al as its red flaming fingers. Ok, I missed one more person to make the list five to complete the metaphor. This is the first time I wrote about basketball so give me a break. I think iron fists can have four fingers.

After the Alaska overlordship had its run and after the main roster parted ways either through trades or retirement, I lost interest. Just like that. Like post-coital porn. No soul searching or introspection was spent over it, not that I had any emotions invested on it anyway. Sure, I had my moments watching the game cheering gutturally, shaking and pumping my fist in the air, groaning and hooting and booing; but it’s not like I’d want to marry Alaska. Local basketball for me just went meh.

Maybe the influx of the Fil-Ams in the turned me off. Or the insistence that we can compete internationally. But I’m digressing.

One day back in college, I asked a friend of mine, out of the blue, after he watched his team play a game on TV:

Me: Uhm… bakit ka fan ng (insert team name)?

Fanboy: Kasi magaling yung players, lalo na si [insert name of superstar].

Me: Paano kung lumipat si [superstar] sa ibang team, magiging fan ka pa rin ba ng team mo ngayon?

Fanboy: Oo naman, doon pa rin ako sa team ko, si [superstar] lang naman ang umalis e.

Me: Paano kung napalitan halos buong roster ng team, fan ka pa rin ba nung team mo?

Fanboy: Malamang hindi na, pero kung magaling yung pumalit bakit hindi?

Me: Paano kung napalitan halos buong roster ng team, tapos bumalik yung paborito mong player, fan ka pa rin ba nung team mo?

Fanboy: …

Me: Paano kung laging talo yung team mo, magiging loyal ka pa rin ba?

Fanboy: …

Me: (by this time I noticed that Fanboy is shaking his head from my doses of doubt, and realized that the guy is bigger than me and that I am a lanky weakling) Uhm… nagtatanong lang naman ako hehe.

Fanboy: Tama na dude.

Me: Okies.

The problem I have with PBA team fandom is that it is more complex to comprehend than those of other leagues and games. NBA teams and futbol teams (as a far superior example) can bank on the sense of belonging, of rooting for the home team, of identifying with a geographically-based community the team represents. The PBA can’t do that. The Metropolitan Basketball Association tried to do it, and I think there is another reincarnation of that on the same mission, but it’s just radar bleeps as far as I—one who mehs basketball—is concerned. Although we can also be fans of international teams, loyalty to PBA teams for me present a challenge of understanding. PBA fans sometimes just spontaneously appear in the coliseum seats as if they are hakot crowds from political rallies.

I want to meet a Purefoods fan who is loyal to the team just because of the love of hotdogs. Or a Shell fan because that person is into corporate social responsibility for tax breaks. Sta. Lucia might actually have real estate agents for fans. Ginebra fans might be tomadores—they may all be. For those who love to talk and text, there is a team for you.

Is it the players? Is it the way they play? Is it because you consider James Yap dreamy? Yes, Fanboy, I’ll still ask these questions. The teams are extensions of advertising and brand loyalty if you ask me. Just look how San Miguel Corporation takes care of its equity through its teams. Come on, SMC owns two teams with different identities and has them compete against each other, like playing Bakugan by yourself.

And people are still surprised that I don’t play basketball, just because I’m tall. I‘d rather be a fan, thank you. >