HOW time flies? It was only three years ago when Global FC Cebu completed its transfer to the Queen City of the South and spent one memorable regular season playing at the Cebu City Sports Center.
In the first game, the demand for the tickets was so high that less than an hour before the whistle, there were scalpers near the gate. Imagine that, scalpers plying their trade in a professional football match in Cebu. The last time that happened, the Azkals were in town. Of course, things normalized after the opening day high but still, the crowds that went to see the home matches were sizeable.
We have the then Cebu Football Association to thank for that. They worked behind the scenes to make home games as smooth as possible and made sure the visiting teams also had a smooth ride. Another factor was the venue itself. Cebuano fans—at least the professionals and the parents—were used to paying to watch games at the CCSC and not just football. There is the parking fee and the entrance fee, and in Global FC’s case, most questions were about where fans could buy tickets and not how to get in for free.
The fans didn’t disappoint too, and showed their football IQ with how they cheered not only for the goals but for excellent plays that turned the tide, a nice pass, a defensive slide or simply one player running into space.
And of course, the home team didn’t disappoint the fans, going undefeated in their games in Cebu and saluting the crowd after every match.
I think the only hiccup was the last game against Ceres Negros, when it was obvious that neither team was playing to win and was giving the crowd a glorified scrimmage. Both teams were assured of spots in the playoffs and didn’t want to risk their standings, and the crowd made sure its sentiment was heard. Sadly, that was the only season Cebu had a football team in the local pro league. Circumstances surrounding the club made the return untenable the next year.
Global FC is still with the league but is now based in Makati. For the past few years, local fans simply picked their own teams to cheer all the way here. This season, with the reported sale of favorite Ceres FC, I wonder who those teams would be. An old favorite, Loyola Meralco, is also rumored to return, giving local fans another option.
As for Cebu having its own team, that may not happen again. To save on costs, the PFL will be limited in Manila and that makes sense. But at least for a few months back in 2017, we got to feel what it was like to have a home team.