THERE have been a lot of hare-brained ideas from politicos in the past few weeks but I’ve always avoided touching those topics here since these are the back pages, right?

But the latest in the long list of what-did-he-say statements just proved too irresistible not to delve on because sports, in a way, will prove the politico wrong.

I’m talking about Rep. Mikey Arroyo’s proposal to postpone the 2022 elections because he thinks the Filipino is too scared of the Covid-19 pandemic. And something tells me that if not for Facebook’s move to delete a network of trolls, it would or will gain the engagement Arroyo and his camp wanted.

But what does sports have to do with that?

Well, I surely hope that Philippine sports in 2021 will show how wrong Arroyo is.

The PBA is expected to start its own bubble in a few weeks, while the football league is ticking off days until its new season. There’s the planned professional chess league—though it will be played online at first—and the collegiate leagues that are supposed to kick off early next year.

Sure, those leagues won’t have people in the bleachers but I am hoping that holding these events gradually eases back in to normalcy.

Which means having sports events, not just for the professionals or student athletes, with limited people in the stands but with maximum health protocols midway next year. I’m talking about fun runs, football tournaments, the weekend basketball leagues, the alumni leagues, bowling tournaments and the rest of the events that we had before Covid-19 upended our lives.

And having those events will prove Mr. Arroyo wrong. I mean, you can’t say the Filipinos are afraid of Covid-19 and push for the postponement of the 2022 elections if you have all these sports events happening.

It’s crazy, right? You can go play basketball but you can’t vote.

There’s also the Olympics Southeast Asian Games and the Suzuki Cup in 2021, all of which we will be joining. All those events will involve preparation at home before the events itself and such home preparations may be used to counter Mr. Arroyo’s point.

So yes, I hope the Filipino sports fan—of which we have millions from all political colors—will indirectly cut this proposal in the bud by engaging in the activities they love and showing whoever is backing this proposal that it’s illogical.

Unless of course, they don’t care about logic and will push through with their agenda. In that case, to paraphrase my favorite villainous general made of metal, “We are doomed.”