The Philippines hasn’t really been a football nation. Never mind if we used to be quite good at it and if Barcelona FC’s legend’s part Filipino. Only a few people would ever associate the town of Barotac Nuevo with football. Yet, for the past month, everyone’s into the sport thanks to the World Cup.

Who can blame people from showing interest? It’s suddenly fashionable.

And we can only expect it to be a flash in the pan in our consciousness. Much like pearl shakes, Havaianas, and badminton.

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I wouldn’t say I hate people who suddenly found themselves interested in the game. I think it’s great that people suddenly find an interest in a team sport where our short stature are not necessarily liabilities unlike with basketball. The state of football locally is just plain dismal and a new interest in the sport might spark potential talent to explore it.

I just don’t like how some turn into soccer elitists despite being flash fans themselves. I don’t appreciate how they’d assert their new-found knowledge about the game as expert opinion and I don’t like how they berate others for not agreeing with them.

What do they really know anyway.

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So Spain won and their run got a lot of Filipinos cheering for our former colonizers. Sense of history. Meh.

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