Cabrera - 100619 David - 104384 Mendoza - 102553 Perez - 102962

March 21, 2012 Ms. Nota Magno SA 21 - R

More Than a Game The Popularization of Philippine Sports and the Effects of Social Stratification

INTRODUCTION Sports in the Philippines vary from local games to those that are introduced to us by foreign influences. From Sipa and Sepak Takraw to Basketball and Football, the mere diversity of sports in the Philippines is quite astounding. Despite this diversity and abundance of sports, there seems to be a bias in favor of the foreign sports versus our local games. Looking at the different sports in the country, one cant help but notice the differences between them in terms of the support that is given to them by the both the public and the government, which proves to be a critical factor in determining the success of the sport. In our country, sports are synonymous with internationally acclaimed team sports like basketball and football, but little do we know about the existence of sports that are local in origin, like Eskrima, or more commonly known as Arnis, the national martial art and sport of the Philippines. Another sport that seems to elude the attention of athletes or even filipinos in general is Sepak Takraw, a sport native to the Malay-Thai Peninsula and is closely related to the Filipino game Sipa. Success of a sport in the country can be attributed to the media attention it gets, which then leads to the interest of the people. As you might imagine, the more publicized a sport is the more focus it is given thus leading to more participants. Sadly however, the local media are more focused on the more internationally renowned sports like Basketball, Football, and Boxing; this leads to the degradation of the sports in our country that are more culturally rooted to us, and may be more apt for our physique. Media attention is vital to the success of a sport because it leads to public interest, which then leads to government funding and support. In line with this, sports grow in popularity only if it is given attention by the media. Other countries do not necessarily share our interest in sports like Sipa so these local sports are left in the dark and looked at as mere folk games. Our research has failed to surface any data concerning clubs or associations that deal with Sipa and people wishing to improve their mastery 1

over the sport/game. Our observations have shown that locally, these games are played in variations mostly by children and maybe even teenagers, but no professionals. As you might imagine, a lack of focus and emphasis on local sports in the media hinders the growth of Filipino sports. It is only recently with the emergence of the Azkals along with the rising popularity of Manny Pacquiao that many Filipinos have shown interest towards the local sporting community and achievements, but even then the sports they so persistently follow are not local in origin, neither are most of the members of the Azkals, for that matter. Perhaps it is because of this that Filipinos have a tendency to see foreigners as superior and more naturally talented especially when it comes to sports, with the exception of the successful Manny Pacquiao of course. It cannot be denied, however, that foreigners do have more success in sports that have originated from other countries, than local athletes. When we look at Philippine sports, we cant help but confuse it with internationally renowned team sports, but in reality, we have a whole lot of sports to choose from which are probably more compatible with our physique. We are not against Filipinos patronizing Basketball or Football, but we can say that by analyzing the success factors that made these sports popular, we can help in promoting our own culture among Filipinos through Sports. By knowing which sports to focus on based on our physique and culture, we can also help promote national pride because sticking with sports that does not ideally fit our short physique does not really help us gain international recognition in sports, and by focusing on the right sports, we can gain international recognition. ISSUE AND OBJECTIVE If the popularity of the sport does not depend solely on national pride, what factor can it be dependent on? If a lack of the ideal physique for a particular sport does not hinder the growth of a sport, then how do you determine what sports are best for our country? Are there any differences between the preferences of members of the higher classes in society as compared to the members of lower classes? One objective that we wish to achieve is to look at the factors that eventually lead to the popularization of certain sports in the country. But primarily, we will analyze this phenomenon and cross-examine it using the tools and viewpoints as taught to us during our time in SA, with our main focus being Sports and Social Stratification. The issue that we wish to tackle is why Filipinos try to jump on the bandwagon so to speak and how we can help broaden the views of the majority and raise the prestige of other sports. This issue is vital to the 2

success of sports in our country because as we join or participate in what are mainstream sports, the focus we give to these sports takes away the focus that we give to other sports that can be more beneficial to the promotion of our culture. We believe that the popularity of some sports differs between social classes because with the difference in social status comes varied levels of exposure to international media and power, prestige and resources for better opportunities to succeed in the sport. DISCUSSION

Foreign Preferences on Sports While these sports are by no means solely popular in their country of origin, it seems that Filipinos take things to a whole new level. NBA is a testament to that, and so is the world sensation of the FIFA world cup. Admittedly there is nothing wrong with admiring the skill and sportsmanship seen and shown during these events, yet there might be something wrong if all focus is given to foreign events, while local teams and events fall by the wayside. An example would be the PBA. Even though it is very popular it still pales in comparison to the NBA craze, as such people tend to look down on our local sports and sporting events. They feel that since the players in the NBA operate on such a higher level than we do locally, Filipino players and games are of inferior quality to foreign games. The problem is that so much attention is given to foreign sports and events that ours starts to fall to the wayside. Media attention goes down, and so does funding. This foreign preference on sports causes us to admire and patronize imports playing in our local leagues. As seen on what is the most basic example for Ateneans, foreign players playing for our school team immediately acquire our respect and admiration even though our local players do not really fall far behind them in terms of skill. In fact Filipino athletes do very well in the UAAP. This immediate focus that is given to them takes away our focus on our homegrown players and talents, which can lead to their discouragement in improving their skills in the sport. Looking at it in the Context of a Timeline The two most popular sports in the Philippines today are Basketball and Football, both of which did not originate in our country. The magnitude of their popularity does contradict the idea that we choose to participate in activities that we are compatible with. Both Basketball and Football require

height and strength (although small players do excel in Football as well), and compared to the rest of the world, Filipinos are not a race that has been blessed with these qualities. However the question here isnt why these two sports became popular, but why our sports did not. Not many people know this but we actually have the oldest Football Team in Asia which was established in 1907, probably as a result of Spanish influence from their rule over our country and supported by the globalization of the sport due to the establishment of FIFA in 1904. In 1898, a new culture was introduced to our nation and with it came new sports. One sport in particular grew and eventually surpassed the popularity of Football: Basketball. With the presence of such prominent cultures and internationally popular sports, the growth of our own cultural games was undoubtedly hindered. The Influence of Media As can be seen with the media, most of the sporting focus centers mainly on basketball, boxing and football. This then begs the question What then happens to the other sports, the sports that are not in the spotlight? The simple answer is: nothing. Due to the lack of media spotlight, and thus popular exposure the prestige inherent in the particular sport plummets. This leads to a downward spiral where the sport lacks members and even funding. An excellent example would be the Philippine dragon boat team. According to the Inquirer newspaper this amazing team won the gold in 2011 in the World Championships. They were only able to do so after scrounging for support from the private sector. There are records of the team having to rely on charity for their food and accommodations at the competition due to lack of funding. Nevertheless, they won beating both Sweden and Hungary. And even after winning a World Championship in dragon boating, their victory was overshadowed by the inconsistent performance of the model-looking Azkals. The media, as an agent of socialization, has influenced the public to give attention only to particular sports despite victories in other aspects of the sporting world, so it seems that success is not the only factor that leads to the growth of a sport. In fact, although the team has been improving, they are still ranked 156 in the world and 26 in Asia. Also it helps that some of the players on the Azkals have what has generally been accepted by the society as appealing physical characteristics, which is just another way of saying that they are handsome based on social standards. So we see how media gives importance even to aspects that are not related to the given sport whatsoever and thus influence the preferences of the public. This just drums in the fact that unless the sport is cool looking or fashionable, there is almost no future for athletes who wish to make it big in non-mainstream sports, and so there are less people willing to give them a try. Two notable examples of this would be Basketball, the Azkals. While actual power is hard to determine in sports, measuring the prestige inherent in sports in a given locale is relatively easy to determine. Basketball and the Azkals get a lot of media attention. Come UAAP season the results are

sometimes all that are talked about. Additionally the Azkals are talked about all the time due to their stellar good looks and their appeal to the peoples desire for filipino success in local tournaments, even if the victories are delivered to us by imported players who happen to have filipino blood.Yet what people tend to forget is that the UAAP is not all about basketball and that there are other sports as well, and that there are people who actually bring pride to the country by winning in their sport, unlike the Azkals whose main duty it seems is to look pretty. Economic Issues Affecting the Sport The economic resources of a person also affect his ability to play a sport. For example, not everyone can engage himself to a sport like archery because of the high cost of equipments that are needed to play. In short, when one is considering a sport to engage in, he always takes into consideration the expenses he will incur because of the sport. This economic barrier can affect the sport as a whole because the higher the expenses included in playing the sport, the lesser people will be able to play it. Even amongst the so-called mainstream sports, those who can benefit from its popularity seem to be those amongst the middle to upper class. If you look at the team rosters for the PBA you will note that most of them come from the private universities that participated in the UAAP. This highlights the fact that to be professionally successful in a sport in the Philippines, it's not enough that you are good at it. Those blessed with economic resources have access to more opportunities that could potentially lead to an advance in their career. You must take into consideration the fact that Universities that participate in the UAAP are universities that generally have achieved some prestige and have the resources to fund their athletic program, this points to the fact that economics is also a significant aspect of the growth of sports. The issue in many cases is not the accessibility of a sport. Instead, it is that to improve in a sport, one must incur many related expenses for proper coaching and exposure for all up and oncoming would be sports stars. In addition to this, athletes that do not have sufficient economic capacity may miss out on many opportunities abroad even if they have the talent for it. Though this might be a personal issue at first glance, one must take into consideration how the government does fail to fund their athletic interests at times and this has been experienced first-hand by one of our group members. The government does offer to pay a specified amount for major tournaments such as the World Series Little League Baseball Tournament annually held in the United States, but most of the expenses have to be borne by the players themselves and as you might imagine, those without the funds have to be left out. A persons location in society dictates the limitations of what activities he can participate in. People from the upper class have better access to hone 5

his skills in a sport that is exclusive to the upper class. This exclusivity creates a barrier within the sport, therefore limiting its popularity in the country. Being in a third world country, sports with a high entry barrier enjoy a greater degree of exclusivity, and exclusivity does not always benefit a sport. For example, through the years, driving ranges for golf have each shut down simply because the expenses outweigh the benefits. This further diminishes its popularity, and results in fewer athletes who might find an interest in the sport. In contrast to this, we have basketball. Compared to golf, all you need to enjoy the sport is a basketball and a hoop. Analyzing the popularity of Basketball in the country, we see that one factor that made it popular is its low entry barrier and easy accessibility to the required facilities. Not only can economic resources needed to play the sport can affect its popularity, which then affects the success of the sport, but its profitability as well. For example, in the sport of boxing, as can often be seen in the television, young boxers from different provinces are enticed to the sport because of its profitability. With the medias constant pursuit of knowledge about the earnings of Manny Pacquiao in each of his fights, young boxers get enticed to engage themselves to boxing because the sport pays good money when you go pro. Billiards is also one good example of a sport gaining its popularity because of its profitability. Billiards, when played in some areas are used for betting, and the better player you are, the more you win. This therefore entices billiard players to hone their skills in playing billiards because they can earn money from it. The existence of economic issues and benefits around a sport affects how it grows as a sport in a country because it limits the people playing it. Social stratification plays a big role in this aspect because a sports profitability enhances its popularity among people from lower classes, while exclusivity in a sport entices players from higher classes. In short, people are drawn towards sports that they have the capability to pursue, and this draws the line between preferences of the higher-class athletes and the lower class athletes. Conclusion and Possibilities With the media and economic boundaries generally controlling the path of sports in our country, we can say that our future success in the sports that we focus on is not bright. Through the years, we have focused on developing ourselves to level up to the other countries standards, and as we do this, we overlook the fact that some aspects of internationally renowned sports are not apt for our physique and culture as Filipinos. We learned from Lee Kuan Yew that sometimes its better to ignore foreign influences and choose things that are more compatible for a particular society, maybe this could be true for the athletic world as well. For example, as we try to improve and level ourselves with NBA standards in basketball, we seem to forget the fact that height is a huge factor in this sport, and as Filipinos, we just do not have these attributes.

Not that its our fault, admittedly its a consequence of our location on this world but still, theres nothing we can do about it. More often as we do so, we acquire imports to represent the Filipino people in international competitions, which when taken beyond boundaries, can affect the Filipinos self esteem and national pride. One thing to do for our country is to shift our focus from these sports that we have little or no chance of succeeding internationally to those sports that we have the attributes to succeed, and develop facilities to improve the abilities of Filipinos in these sports. The past has already shown that we can do well in Rowing, Baseball and Boxing so this may be a start. Consistent advertising and publicity may change the views of many Filipinos. Given that media affects the overall promulgation of a sport, one way to address the issue through media is by giving more recognition of the sports that can be more apt for our physique. By doing so, this can stimulate public interest and soon can make us more competitive internationally. We can see that this is a, relatively, not huge issue for our country, but given that sports bring many benefits for a country, this issue should be addressed. In addition to this, sports are an effective way of promoting national pride and improving the self-esteem of people. Perhaps one way to address the issue is by increasing public awareness for our local sports like Sipa and Sepak Takraw or Arnis. Maybe if we develop skills in this sport, we can also develop the skills for more internationally renowned sports like Football. Both sport require precise foot control, so as we promote sipa, we can also hone the skills required for football. If we do so, we have a better chance of gaining worldwide recognition not only for the international sports, but also for our local sports as well.

Sources Bartholomew, Rafe. Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair With Basketball. New York: New American Library, 2010. Print. http://sports.inquirer.net/10253/philippine-dragon-boat-team-breathes-firestrikes-gold http://www.pba.ph/teams http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/456399/Philippines/272987/Sport s-and-recreation http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/special-features-history-aculture/925-a-bit-of-football-and-history.html http://www.livestrong.com/article/424708-do-they-play-soccer-in-thephilippines/