Fair Play: All dressed up and ready to go...to jail?
I SAW a man get arrested during a football game in the Southeast Asian Games in 2005 because he made sure everyone’s attention was on him.
He sure did get it, the cops’ included, and five of them—one on each extremity—carried him out of the venue like a sack of garbage.
Before that, my friend Graeme Mackinnon was worried—nay, bewildered. I think the prospect of spending time in jail was threatening to spoil his grand time in Bacolod City.
He was dressed up to the football nines—his face painted with the flag’s colors, a blue wig and an Azkalero shirt on and the Philippine flag draped on his back.
He sure got every body’s attention.
Including one teacher whose patriotism may have been a wee bit misplaced.
The teacher told a cop, who in turn told Graeme that he was violating a law by wearing such getup. Graeme should remove it, or else…
Graeme, at that moment, sent me a frantic text message and because I was mentally composing my story that time, I didn’t quite get it when I read the words, “Cop,” “arrest,” and “flag” in his text message.
I thought he was joking.
But when I got a good look at him, I realized he wasn’t.
Imagine listening to Albert Einstein explaining the finer points of the Theory of Relativity, Graeme had that “lost look.”
If Einstein does that to you, your face will look as if you understand what he is talking about but you really have no idea what he is talking about. You also sort of wonder, “Why is he telling me this?”
The teacher wanted the cop to escort Graeme out of the venue because he was desecrating the Philippine flag.
“One half was telling me ‘Is this guy for real?’ and the other half could see he was serious in what he was telling me. So it was a little discomforting,” Graeme told me the other day.
Had the teacher known Graeme’s story, he or she or he/she would have apologized, bought Graeme his favorite juice and next three meals.
You see, among the thousands of fans that night, nobody was prouder of the Philippine team than this Australian, who flew all the way from Down Under just to watch the team play.
He also had to spend an extra grand or two because (like most tourists?), Graeme lost his cell phone in the first few days.
He did that because two of the starters in that U23 team—Michael Casas and Arni Pasenabo—trained with him as kids. Graeme, was like a proud dad watching his sons graduate from college.
The Bacolod City fans who knew Graeme’s story apologized for their kababayan and in the next two games, started wearing Graeme’s colors.
That’s when I saw a guy get violently hauled off the venue.
GMA was there and the President even had a good laugh at Graeme’s getup. She also didn’t have him arrested when they were introduced.
She wasn’t laughing, though, when, during the national anthem, some dude repeatedly chanted, “PATALKSIKIN SI GLORIA!!!” just a few rows behind me, catching a few embarrassed PSGs and cops by surprise.
Next month, Graeme will be back in Bacolod and because of Manny Pacquiao’s fights, most Pinoys now know there’s nothing unpatriotic about bringing flags in sports events and I don’t think anyone will be complaining
to the NHI, unless Martin Nievera sings the anthem.
This early, Graeme has prepared lots of face paint, wigs and air horns. He also wants me to buy a couple of flags, the smaller versions.
Why more than one?
Well, let’s just say that if Graeme gets arrested for wearing such getup, one Cebu columnist will be sharing his jail cell.
He sure did get it, the cops’ included, and five of them—one on each extremity—carried him out of the venue like a sack of garbage.
Before that, my friend Graeme Mackinnon was worried—nay, bewildered. I think the prospect of spending time in jail was threatening to spoil his grand time in Bacolod City.
He was dressed up to the football nines—his face painted with the flag’s colors, a blue wig and an Azkalero shirt on and the Philippine flag draped on his back.
He sure got every body’s attention.
Including one teacher whose patriotism may have been a wee bit misplaced.
The teacher told a cop, who in turn told Graeme that he was violating a law by wearing such getup. Graeme should remove it, or else…
Graeme, at that moment, sent me a frantic text message and because I was mentally composing my story that time, I didn’t quite get it when I read the words, “Cop,” “arrest,” and “flag” in his text message.
I thought he was joking.
But when I got a good look at him, I realized he wasn’t.
Imagine listening to Albert Einstein explaining the finer points of the Theory of Relativity, Graeme had that “lost look.”
If Einstein does that to you, your face will look as if you understand what he is talking about but you really have no idea what he is talking about. You also sort of wonder, “Why is he telling me this?”
The teacher wanted the cop to escort Graeme out of the venue because he was desecrating the Philippine flag.
“One half was telling me ‘Is this guy for real?’ and the other half could see he was serious in what he was telling me. So it was a little discomforting,” Graeme told me the other day.
Had the teacher known Graeme’s story, he or she or he/she would have apologized, bought Graeme his favorite juice and next three meals.
You see, among the thousands of fans that night, nobody was prouder of the Philippine team than this Australian, who flew all the way from Down Under just to watch the team play.
He also had to spend an extra grand or two because (like most tourists?), Graeme lost his cell phone in the first few days.
He did that because two of the starters in that U23 team—Michael Casas and Arni Pasenabo—trained with him as kids. Graeme, was like a proud dad watching his sons graduate from college.
The Bacolod City fans who knew Graeme’s story apologized for their kababayan and in the next two games, started wearing Graeme’s colors.
That’s when I saw a guy get violently hauled off the venue.
GMA was there and the President even had a good laugh at Graeme’s getup. She also didn’t have him arrested when they were introduced.
She wasn’t laughing, though, when, during the national anthem, some dude repeatedly chanted, “PATALKSIKIN SI GLORIA!!!” just a few rows behind me, catching a few embarrassed PSGs and cops by surprise.
Next month, Graeme will be back in Bacolod and because of Manny Pacquiao’s fights, most Pinoys now know there’s nothing unpatriotic about bringing flags in sports events and I don’t think anyone will be complaining
to the NHI, unless Martin Nievera sings the anthem.
This early, Graeme has prepared lots of face paint, wigs and air horns. He also wants me to buy a couple of flags, the smaller versions.
Why more than one?
Well, let’s just say that if Graeme gets arrested for wearing such getup, one Cebu columnist will be sharing his jail cell.
Comments
@Tits, sayup guro source sa mga taga Manila, hehehe