Evolutionary Leaps

Fresh from their holiday in Aman Pulo, a surprise bonus from the Board of Trustees (BT), the entire Marikina United organization, coaches, staff, and players have gathered at dawn today on the training grounds at the Irineo Cruz Memorial Stadium to officially start the new season with an address from their manager, Mar Queno. Initially no media coverage was slated but due to this correspondent's bullish insistence, the Philippine Daily Star was granted this exclusive peek into the inner workings of Marikina's most popular football club.



Fresh from their holiday in Aman Pulo, a surprise bonus from the Board of Trustees (BT), the entire Marikina United organization, coaches, staff, and players have gathered at dawn today on the training grounds at the Irineo Cruz Memorial Stadium to officially start the new season with an address from their manager, Mar Queno. Initially no media coverage was slated but due to this correspondent's bullish insistence, the Philippine Daily Star was granted this exclusive peek into the inner workings of Marikina's most popular football club.

Mar Queno, who has a personal quest to redefine 'Filipino time' from being an hour (or more) late to being (at least) half an hour early, was predictably already in the covered seating area, subjecting himself to the masochistic pleasure of chewing on an unlit montecristo. The early morning drizzle accentuated the eerie feeling in this ancient, almost sacred stadium, together with the wispy mist swirling between our steps. After we were all seated, the Sublime Supremo, began his address, not unlike the Great Teacher Onizuka of manga, anime, and telenovela fame.

'Well, we're all still here. Good morning. Let me go over some changes with you so you don't get disoriented as we start this new season. First of all, the BT has decided to switch sponsors from Purple to Obel. We tried to sign both on but this was not feasible. More on this later. Secondly, my appeal to the BT has finally been approved, I am pleased to announce that we no longer have to wear pink and green. As countless others have also noted, the hot pink and neon green popularized by local politicos don't really go well with the green of the pitch and, based on market research and actual sales figures, also do not sit well with our fans.' With a nod, MQ signalled Coach Pangandaman and Coach Banegas to join him at the bottom of the stands. 'Thanks, Coach P&B! Don't be shy now!' Chuckling, the two removed their outer garments to show the new club kits they had on. The sighs of relief and succeeding celebrations reflected the club's satisfaction with the uniforms, either that or they were happy their coaches weren't doing a full monty. 'Gentlemen, your new kits! Red for home, blue for away. (to me) Gani, 1500php for a set at the merchandise shop/stall, ha! Write that down before you forget! The squad's old kits will be auctioned off at our annual charity event to be announced later in the season.'

It took a couple of minutes for everyone to settle down after inspecting the snazzy new threads and MQ resumed when they finally did, after an assistant handed him a double espresso. 'You'll all get yours in a while. Moving on, in a surprising turn of events, Marikina United has been promoted to 3.2. Boon or doom, at this point I still haven't decided. What is certain now is that prudent use of the performance bonuses from the BT is essential. After ensuring sound capital investments, I will be looking to streamline the squad as well as to infuse it with new talent to remain competitive at this higher level.' Audible gulps from some of the youngsters at this point were heard, even some of the veterans showed signs of nervousness. 'No need to worry, Dominguez, your mama made sure that you'd stay on.' Raucous laughter ensued. 'Seriously though, everyone should do their best, I don't want to have to say goodbye to any of you.'

The coffee, as promised, arrived with three pieces each of puto and kuntsinta. 'I wish I could say that Aling Remy made the rice cakes but sadly, she has passed away. These are almost as good since they were made by her children.' MQ said, adding 'The buffet table will be ready in a while, we're wrapping up anyway.' With a sip of water, the man continued, 'While we generally continue to improve our stadium, the focus has now been to increase capacity, with the single largest reconstruction of Irineo Cruz Memorial Stadium to date scheduled to start later today. This new expansion covers all the wings of the stadium and represents an increase of about 6,500 seats. Now, please examine the bottom of the saucers under your coffee cups, you'll be happy to discover a little picker upper to start the season.' Wild cheering, especially from the youngsters, erupted as the team retrieved car keys almost simultaneously from their shrewdly designed hiding places. 'Pipe down a bit so we can finish this and start eating! I'm hungry!' boomed MQ, with a little help from an old school megaphone, resplendent in its red and white (well, it's kinda yellow now) plastic. 'Those are the keys to your brand new Obel Tigers, nimble little two door convertibles with just enough power to keep you entertained. All of them are red, with the Marikina United Football Club crest as a badge on the left front fender. But before you rush off, let's have a little breakfast first. If you think you've got it good now, give us some silverware at the end of the season and I'll show you just how fantastic life in Marikina can get! Make us proud, my sons, make us proud!'

I may not have received a sportscar but I did enjoy a fantastic breakfast of tapang usa (smoked venison made by MQ himself I heard), garlic and saffron fried rice (with some foie gras bits, i believe..), fresh Marikina tomatoes, burong mangga (supposedly another MQ specialty, pickled unripe zambales mangoes with cerveza negra, among other secret ingredients), and perfectly cooked native chicken eggs over easy (malasado!). Actually, I was expecting some news about tactics, formations, training regimes and so on but no information was forthcoming, apparently. Maybe next time, then, if we're lucky. In the meantime, we'll definitely be watching to see if these expensive and lavish 'investments' of the Sublime Supremo pay off.

The sun's first rays have begun to cut through the chilly morning air. Overhead, the sky is radiant with a myriad of colors, a well suited backdrop for numerous birds in flight. Great things are bound to come.

Gabriel Isagani, Philippine Daily Star