Saturday, December 02, 2006 Oh My Rocky Stars By Rene Lizada Papa’s Table
FIRST the good news. My wife and I did not have a fight on the third fight of Pacman. She woke up early to do what she likes to do on a Sunday, wash clothes. As a sign of her undying love for her family, Chona my wife, whether you believe it or not, does our clothes. All of us. But that is another story.
When I opened my eyes last Sunday, I thought, oh this is the day! This is the fight day. So when I stepped out of my stupor and went out of the bathroom I saw Chona doing the clothes. I said good morning and she did the same thing, She Asked if I wanted to have breakfast and I agreed. I would do everything she asked of me today, that was my promise to Freddie Roach! We had breakfast together and we just talked about anything.
After breakfast she said that she had to go to the hardware because she had to buy things for the leaking pipe. She also said that she had to go to the market to buy the vegetables for her bulalo. (Yes Top Rank Boxing, my wife cooks a really mean bulalo!) Of course I agreed to all these errands for two reasons.
One, I had no choice, and two, I had no choice! I did not want to fight over check valves and lettuce!
Actually what I really wanted to do was sit in one corner and ask the most important question of the day, where will I watch the fight? But since the heavyweight in our house was saying that we should go to the hardware, I said, yes!
But it is to her credit that Chona asked, "asan ka watch ng fight?" I said I still could not decide.
So off we went to the hardware and the market. In both places there was talk of only one thing, the fight.
There seemed to be something in the air last Sunday, a festive hopeful anticipation of a sweet possibility.
After we were done with the market my wife said that she had to have some knives sharpened! I cringed and thought, "what a day to have knives sharpened." So we went to the "baid-er." The one who did the baid, the sharpening. His shop was a small one but there were so many people at this early hour awaiting the fight.
We had to wait for thirty minutes to have the blades honed. After that it was off to home. When we got home my wife asked again where I would watch the fight. I still could not decide.
I was thinking Marco Polo, moviehouse, hotel, house of cousin or radio. I decided radio. That would be free and I would not have to leave the house. So I propped myself on bed, got the radio, (yes the same one!) and fluffed the bed. I opened the radio and it was the last round of the Viloria fight. I opened the television and Solar Sports was just in Round One. The ads were going wild.
It was in the middle of an ad that I found out that the Viloria fight ended in a draw. Of course those who were watching television were slowly going mad because of the unbridled way those ads were coming. Is there not a law limiting the number of ads? Poor people watching television because they were still in Round Two and in real time the fight was over.
Then the announcer said that we had to wait for sometime because there was another fight before the main event. Then the announcer asked a question as to who they would like to win.
And somebody texted, "basta kaming mga Mexican kay Morales mi." I was confused. Then the message ended, kay taga New Mexico man mi! O, you do not get that in pay per view!
We had to wait for an hour to get the live feed from the radio. In the meantime a lot of people were dying in front of their tv sets because of the incessant and mindless manner in which those ads were coming.
Slightly delayed basis was the term. How ironic that was. It was delayed. Pure and simple. Anyway.
When the main event finally arrived we were so hungry that we decided to have lunch, the bulalo was waiting and it was steaming hot! We went through it like light and after we were done, one of my children said, "nag text friend ko, panalo na si Paquiao, tko round three." I went to the television but it was no use.
The whole world knew except those watching tv in those two channels!
To make a long story short I agonized to watch three rounds for over an hour. And to make matters worse, I thought I would watch a clean screen but no! This was commercialism to the hilt. Product icons were flashing in the screen sometimes covering the action!
Finally at about three I was able to finish the fight.
In the meantime my wife was quiet all the time. She has never been a fight fan so this was just another thing for her. And she just remained silent. And then she asked me, how much would the Pacman get.
I said, 150 million pesos. And with a deadly almost sinister voice she said, "dapat naging boxer ka."
And that is the bad news! My wife wants me to be a boxer? In what weight category? I do not think they have an overweight division! Can you imagine Michael Buffer saying, "let's get ready to rumble, this fight is in the overweight division!!!
With a record of eating too much, please welcome the undisputed, overweight champion of the world!" Sarah Geronimo would run for her life!
Now my new song will be the theme from Rocky. And now I will be punching meat slabs instead of eating them.
My favorite animal part will be the eye of the tiger. And I will be running around the village and when I reach the top I will raise my hands not in triumph but in surrender! I think my wife is destroying for the good. Or in Tagalog nasisiraan ng bait! This is worse than our fights!
