Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Oyson: ‘What will I show to my grandchildren?’
By MANUEL N. OYSON JR.
COUNTERPUNCH
RANDOM House Dictionary defines memorabilia as souvenirs; mementos; things to be remembered; matters of events worthy to be remembered; points worthy of note; etc. In the world of sports, these memorabilia are usually found in halls of fame, museums or just plain storage rooms.
They consist of a number of bric-a-bracs, like soiled uniform with a familiar number, shoes, sneakers, bats, balls, gloves, caps, undergarments, socks, and other items highlighting a sports hero’s career.
In the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame, we started with a few items some years back, including the No.5 uniform of national basketball scoring champion Julian Macoy of the University of San Carlos, medallions, plaques, and a scrapbook on Cebuano Olympian Manny Paner donated by Mrs. Fred Ponteras, as well as a book on the history of the Far Eastern Olympic Games by Dr. Regino Ylanan (I assume it is still there).
LOST. I do not know if the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame has been expanded to house these memorabilia. No funds have been provided for them, although the space is now available at the Cebu City Sports Center. What we do have is the renovated gallery of sports heroes and heroines that Cebu has produced since 1915, which now occupy a hallowed place at CCSC.
The subject of memorabilia is now an issue in the Philippine Basketball Association because the souvenirs and mementos of past PBA stars have been damaged, if not lost. Among the most vocal of all is Sen. Robert Jaworski, acknowledged as a living legend. He has a lot of reasons to gripe.
It seems that in 2000, Jaworski and 24 other former PBA stars, lent their personal collections of photographs, awards, plaques, trophies, jerseys, and even college diplomas during the 25th anniversary of the founding of the PBA. They were exhibited in a series of mall tours in Davao, Cebu and around Metro Manila to immortalize the achievements of the 25 greatest PBA players.
They included souvenirs from Jaworski, Paner, Ricardo Brown, Ramon Fernandez, Philip Cezar, Bogs Adornado, Atoy Co, Danny Florencio, Freddie Hubalde, Francis Arnaiz, Bernard Fabiosa, Allan Caidic, Ronnie Magsanoc, Lim Eng Beng, Jojo Lastimosa, Samboy Lim, Alvin Patrimonio, Alberto Guidaben and Ato Agustin.
BLAME. The PBA’s marketing chief, Ronnie Poe, and former commissioner Jun Bernardino have been blamed for their failure to account for some of these memorabilia. Many of them have been reportedly lost, ravaged or simply left rotting in a secluded warehouse near Manila Bay after their public exhibition. In other countries, these sports memorabilia are like England’s Crown Jewels and carefully cared for and well-guarded.
In the Philippines, they are just pieces of junk, not worth losing sleep over. But do not say that to the players concerned, especially Jaworski and Fernandez, who expressed their dismay over their disappearance. Jaworski said that in other countries people make efforts to keep and maintain anything which has historical significance. Fernandez, noting that most of his mementos were damaged wondered aloud: “What will I show to my grandchildren?”
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “One reason the PBA has continued to suffer from glaring anemia, the lack of passion at the gates, is the evident absence of playing ire among its pampered overpaid local gladiators.” -Sports columnist Recah Trindad, PDI
(e-mail: mno@sunstar. com.ph)
(November 4, 2003 issue)
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