Saturday, September 27, 2008 Limpag: George the pundit picks UV over USC By Mike T. Limpag Fair Play
WHILE I was waiting eagerly for the result of the University of San Carlos vs. University of the Visayas Cesafi semifinals, I had a chat with my friend George.
(His real name is Jerome, but wants to be called George and claims to be the man in storya mong George)
I’ve known him for years and George, nearing 30, brags his occupation is to read all the local and national dailies’ sports pages every day.
He said he used to have an athlete’s endurance, but now endures even to be a “pretend athlete.” A former college paper staffer, he has and wants his opinion on all things heard. But since his opinion is useless at his boring desk job…he lets them rip with me…
“Do you get a lifetime’s supply of Milo?…Why all the Milo pics?…Are you a Sharapova stalker?…BOPK not a party?…Joavan is still free?...Who took your picture?”
Like I said, George is an opinionated prick, and like a few of them, he could get ample newspaper space, so I asked whether he could be Fair Play’s resident pundit.
What’s a pundit? Per wikipedia.org, a pundit is an expert who offers opinion or commentary on a particular subject on which they are presumed (There’s the operative word) to be knowledgeable.
My fee is P1,000 per appearance, another P500 per argument.
I told him he’s not a lawyer. I should have been one. But I’d discuss it with my boss. Who? Attorney? Tell him to update his column picture will you? (I swear, one of these days, George will get me in trouble)
“For once be serious!” I asked. OK.
UV vs. USC, who do you want to win? Duh? The better team of course, Are you still rooting for UV to lose?
Yes, for a change. It’s boring how UV always… You sportswriters are really a strange bunch. You say Roger Federer is unbeatable and when he loses a few matches, you think he’s done? Were you bored? Why do you want USC to win so badly?
It’s a battle of programs George, UV’s got a comprehensive recruitment…You mean the scholarships to players’ relatives and the five-digit allowance?
Let met finish will you? UV players are heavily-recruited, while the rest, like USC’s, are mostly walk-ins, little guys with big dreams. It’s time…
Yes, and you spent years in USC. Don’t show your bias. What was it that you always say? The minimum fare was P1.50 when you were a freshman at USC and was P5 when you graduated? Is this about wanting the school to win or recouping all that investment?
Pundits use facts George, not conjectures. Facts be damned! You know damn well how facts can be twisted in sports, shall I name a certain businessman who gets...(This time, I interrupted)
Back to UV vs. USC, George. OK. The better team will win, it always does.
Don’t punish and begrudge the present players for all the successes of the previous teams. A loss by UV won’t level the playing field. Stop picking on UV because it is good, better yet pick on the inconsistency of some pompous USC fans.
USC fans? What about them? Tell the fans of your beloved YU ES SI that it is the choice of words and action that shows a person’s education—or lack of it—not the school he or she chooses to enroll in.
They’re just college kids having fun, George, leave them be. Yes, but if your school’s fans want to make a statement like “win or lose it’s the school we choose” remember they chose to be in a Catholic school.
Remind them also a team can still win even if it loses, and it can lose, even if it wins through the actions of its players and fans. Besides, whatever happened to education is a right, not a choice?
Like I said, George is opinionated, and he will be Fair Play’s resident pundit. Tell Attorney my rate is now P1,500 per appearance! And I want my own picture! And I want it bigger too!
