TOKYO — My brother-in-law Madi, out of the blue, started asking me as to why Japan has been doing well in the world of sports, recently citing their performance in the Fifa World Cup.
For an advanced and industrialized country, Japan has been producing outstanding athletes for many years in professional sports.
Let me put it this way, I said.
If the economy is doing well, naturally, the people are in the good mood for entertainment.
And sports is one huge, huge part of the entertainment industry.
So huge that it has been professionalized and even universities have opened courses leading to a uninversity degree in sports. It just cannot be stopped.
I mentioned in my previous column that we used to beat Japan in soccer by double digit scores, according to a Japanese coach whose name I could no longer recall when he visited Davao many moons back.
But as Japan’s economy grew right after the second World War, its sports affairs grew by leaps and bounds. In fact, Japan has hosted the Olympics four times.
Our myriad of challenges in the Philippines have led to the underdevelopment of sports. The decline of our performance in the world stage can be shown in just a few medal count. If not for weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, we would not even earn that elusive Olympic gold medal. Compare that to Japan’s 186 gold medals in the Olympics! And we never hosted the Olympics.
I remember stories of the Philippines hosting big events at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in first 1913 and the last time in 1934. At that time, the Philippines was then a sports power. Now, you obviously know the answer.
So, our beloved country should simply follow what Japan has been doing all these years, economically, to be a highly-industrialized country and the consequence is the big growth in sports development.
I am reminded of Philippine Football Federation (PFF) secretary-general Christopher Monfort who said that a city should always prioritize the building of sports infrastructure and programs because that will keep the citizenry healthy in the long run. “Keep our people in sports and they will avoid going to the hospitals”, he said.
And I totally agree. But I responded to Chris saying, we have to fix our economy and peace and order condition. And he agreed.
We have sports facilities already, and the National Academy of Sports(NAS) was established too, big thanks to Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and the approval of Mayor Digong, the president then.
It will take some time for NAS to show its great results yet I am optimistic that the day will come when Academy graduates will turn things the way it should be with the help of government and private sector leaders.
Can we be a sports power again?
Forgive me for still being idealistic about it but I am still optimistic you know. Like Senator Bong Go who worked very hard for the establishment of the NAS.
Every time I see beautiful sports facilities and events abroad, I always feel sad but I tell myself, “Mahimo unta nis Pilipinas”.
Grow our economy, make it like Japan and sports can grow by leaps and bounds too!
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For comments, email mpb_sports@yahoo.com.
