Fair Play: Meeting CCSC's eight lanes, again
This column came out in the March 5, 2011 issue of Sun.Star Cebu.
AS A sportswriter, I consider myself a regular at the Cebu City Sports Center, having covered so many meets and sporting events at CCSC.
But I don’t think I would have seen CCSC for what it really is had I not spent time the past few weeks trying to burn 16 years of inactivity.
It’s not just a sports center, it’s an “everything center.” Aside from the guys running around the oval, there are folks doing Capoeira, girl scouts, boy scouts, boys who scout girls, dancers, softball players, Frisbee players, footballers and heck, guys who spend hours twirling their balls. (I kid you not.)
There are badminton players, belly dancers, dance instructors, weight lifters, guys who play American football, break dancers, group mates, study groups, martial artists, volleyball players and what have you. I think I even saw a couple making out, or was that the delusion finally kicking in?
The CCSC is the most-used facility of its kind in the country.
Makes you wonder where will all these people go once the long-awaited rehab kicks in this summer, right?
Spending a few hours at the oval these past few weeks made me wish the Cebu City Government—plus the bickering congressmen—will kick in a hundred million or two for a full rehab of the facility.
Instead of the P40 million for the track oval repair, why not rehabilitate the whole thing? Improve the field and we can host an Azkal friendly, extend the grandstand and we’re talking the 2014 Suzuki Cup.
Of course, you have to throw in a few million or more for “protective custody”—cover for the new field and rubber oval when the Sinulog , or those concerts, hit town.
Where to get the money?
Well, why not spend for something people use instead of those that they don’t?
And I tell you, I’m not being delusional.
Want me to name a few of these edifices that are a waste of public funds? The skywalks at Country Mall, Imus and the two on Osmeña Blvd.
The CCSC fulfills its function and all these “world-class” this and “global” that
makes me wish we’ll have a world-class CCSC.
Sigh, I hope I am not being delusional.
MESSAGES. By the way, my time at the oval got me reacquainted with the Eight Lanes again. If you remember, I got quite an earful from them the first time we talked (State of the Oval, addressed, Sept. 14, 2008).
They are now friendly to me after that piece got published and we are even Facebook buddies! Lane Two is still crazy and is pretending to be Justine Bieber in Facebook, while Lane Eight, still as smart as ever, spent a few minutes chatting with me.
“Ey Dude, where did your hair go? By the way, I hope you can help relay this message to the joggers and runners out there, Lane One has been pestering me for ages.”
“Fire away!” I said.
“Tell the folks Lane One is for the elite runners, while we get the rest. Also, if you want to take a stroll, or jog in groups, don’t occupy all of us. That drives us crazy. And no high heels, no leather shoes. No eating over us, either.”
Why don’t YOU tell them, I fired back.
“We keep trying,” he said. “But they don’t seem to hear us or maybe we just don’t share the same frequency. That’s why we need you!”
He also said, “We don’t cater to any exclusive group—we’re not kapamilyas, kapusos or kapatids—so try to be more understanding with each other’s needs, OK? Especially the runners and football players.”
Here’s another e-mail from Muamar Quarazie, “Dear Sir, I am an ex-Libyan general with $50 million in the bank and I need your help in setting up an account so I can withdraw the money and give you 50 percent...”
Er, I think this guy’s delusional. Scram!
AS A sportswriter, I consider myself a regular at the Cebu City Sports Center, having covered so many meets and sporting events at CCSC.
But I don’t think I would have seen CCSC for what it really is had I not spent time the past few weeks trying to burn 16 years of inactivity.
It’s not just a sports center, it’s an “everything center.” Aside from the guys running around the oval, there are folks doing Capoeira, girl scouts, boy scouts, boys who scout girls, dancers, softball players, Frisbee players, footballers and heck, guys who spend hours twirling their balls. (I kid you not.)
There are badminton players, belly dancers, dance instructors, weight lifters, guys who play American football, break dancers, group mates, study groups, martial artists, volleyball players and what have you. I think I even saw a couple making out, or was that the delusion finally kicking in?
The CCSC is the most-used facility of its kind in the country.
Makes you wonder where will all these people go once the long-awaited rehab kicks in this summer, right?
Spending a few hours at the oval these past few weeks made me wish the Cebu City Government—plus the bickering congressmen—will kick in a hundred million or two for a full rehab of the facility.
Instead of the P40 million for the track oval repair, why not rehabilitate the whole thing? Improve the field and we can host an Azkal friendly, extend the grandstand and we’re talking the 2014 Suzuki Cup.
Of course, you have to throw in a few million or more for “protective custody”—cover for the new field and rubber oval when the Sinulog , or those concerts, hit town.
Where to get the money?
Well, why not spend for something people use instead of those that they don’t?
And I tell you, I’m not being delusional.
Want me to name a few of these edifices that are a waste of public funds? The skywalks at Country Mall, Imus and the two on Osmeña Blvd.
The CCSC fulfills its function and all these “world-class” this and “global” that
makes me wish we’ll have a world-class CCSC.
Sigh, I hope I am not being delusional.
MESSAGES. By the way, my time at the oval got me reacquainted with the Eight Lanes again. If you remember, I got quite an earful from them the first time we talked (State of the Oval, addressed, Sept. 14, 2008).
They are now friendly to me after that piece got published and we are even Facebook buddies! Lane Two is still crazy and is pretending to be Justine Bieber in Facebook, while Lane Eight, still as smart as ever, spent a few minutes chatting with me.
“Ey Dude, where did your hair go? By the way, I hope you can help relay this message to the joggers and runners out there, Lane One has been pestering me for ages.”
“Fire away!” I said.
“Tell the folks Lane One is for the elite runners, while we get the rest. Also, if you want to take a stroll, or jog in groups, don’t occupy all of us. That drives us crazy. And no high heels, no leather shoes. No eating over us, either.”
Why don’t YOU tell them, I fired back.
“We keep trying,” he said. “But they don’t seem to hear us or maybe we just don’t share the same frequency. That’s why we need you!”
He also said, “We don’t cater to any exclusive group—we’re not kapamilyas, kapusos or kapatids—so try to be more understanding with each other’s needs, OK? Especially the runners and football players.”
Here’s another e-mail from Muamar Quarazie, “Dear Sir, I am an ex-Libyan general with $50 million in the bank and I need your help in setting up an account so I can withdraw the money and give you 50 percent...”
Er, I think this guy’s delusional. Scram!
Comments