I started a joke...
I HAD fun making up facts and interviews for that April Fools story about how Global FC supposedly snagged Manny Pacquiao for its AFC President’s Cup campaign in Cebu. I usually write April Fools stories in my blog and at the beginning of the year, when I found out that April 1 fell on a Monday, when I had a column scheduled, I’ve been thinking of a good story.
I really looked forward to writing one, and after it got published and we all had fun--including Dan Palami who gamely tweeted it--I thought that was it.
Imagine my surprise when, a day later, eagle-eyed footie fan Jaron Genota shared on Twitter how that report was translated to Tagalog and published as a news report in a tabloid!
And they even included that part about how officials and players have to spar with Manny Pacquiao if they make mistakes.
And here’s one that takes the cake, this paragraph that reeks of sarcasm, “One of the many, many, many members of Pacquiao’s management team said this move was planned so Manny can corner the growing endorsement market for football-related products, currently dominated by Phil Younghusband,” was translated to a direct quote.
It became, “‘Malaki na ang itinaas sa market ng football at posibleng makuha rin ito ni Pacman,’ pahayag ng isang malapit na kaibigan ni Pacman na tumangging magpabanggit ng pangalan.”
I know most tabloids aren’t trustworthy news sources and this sort of proves why. By the way, the tagline of that tabloid? “Salamin ng katotohanan.”
This isn’t my first April Fools story that sort of got noticed. The first was the one on how the then PFF president in 2008 resigned from his post to assume his new post as chairman of the Fifa Committee on Lost Causes. The president, who said in his inaugural speech that he was going to resign if he couldn’t make football the second most popular sport in the country, was pissed and rang me up.
That time, I also wrote that the national team’s matches would be televised and to get sponsors for the 90-minute matches, commentators would be forced to include sponsors in their TV spiels, like “The phrase, “Uminom ng Alaxan, para di sumakit ang ulo nyan” after every header, “Isang malakas na sipa mula sa Red Horse” for every shot at goal and “Wag mag-alala, tatayo pa rin yan basta may Viagra,” if a player gets hit in his “crown jewels.”
I actually smiled the first time I heard Bob Guerrero mention the McDonald’s man of the match and that McDonald’s reminder every midpoint in a half.
Things sure have changed a lot since 2008.
We now have the UFL, and the Philippines now has a representative in the AFC President’s Cup, which will be played in Cebu this summer.
And in 2015, the Asean Football Federation will launch a 16-club Super League and based on an earlier interview, PFF President Nonong Araneta wants the Philippine representative to based in Cebu!
I really looked forward to writing one, and after it got published and we all had fun--including Dan Palami who gamely tweeted it--I thought that was it.
Imagine my surprise when, a day later, eagle-eyed footie fan Jaron Genota shared on Twitter how that report was translated to Tagalog and published as a news report in a tabloid!
And they even included that part about how officials and players have to spar with Manny Pacquiao if they make mistakes.
And here’s one that takes the cake, this paragraph that reeks of sarcasm, “One of the many, many, many members of Pacquiao’s management team said this move was planned so Manny can corner the growing endorsement market for football-related products, currently dominated by Phil Younghusband,” was translated to a direct quote.
It became, “‘Malaki na ang itinaas sa market ng football at posibleng makuha rin ito ni Pacman,’ pahayag ng isang malapit na kaibigan ni Pacman na tumangging magpabanggit ng pangalan.”
I know most tabloids aren’t trustworthy news sources and this sort of proves why. By the way, the tagline of that tabloid? “Salamin ng katotohanan.”
This isn’t my first April Fools story that sort of got noticed. The first was the one on how the then PFF president in 2008 resigned from his post to assume his new post as chairman of the Fifa Committee on Lost Causes. The president, who said in his inaugural speech that he was going to resign if he couldn’t make football the second most popular sport in the country, was pissed and rang me up.
That time, I also wrote that the national team’s matches would be televised and to get sponsors for the 90-minute matches, commentators would be forced to include sponsors in their TV spiels, like “The phrase, “Uminom ng Alaxan, para di sumakit ang ulo nyan” after every header, “Isang malakas na sipa mula sa Red Horse” for every shot at goal and “Wag mag-alala, tatayo pa rin yan basta may Viagra,” if a player gets hit in his “crown jewels.”
I actually smiled the first time I heard Bob Guerrero mention the McDonald’s man of the match and that McDonald’s reminder every midpoint in a half.
Things sure have changed a lot since 2008.
We now have the UFL, and the Philippines now has a representative in the AFC President’s Cup, which will be played in Cebu this summer.
And in 2015, the Asean Football Federation will launch a 16-club Super League and based on an earlier interview, PFF President Nonong Araneta wants the Philippine representative to based in Cebu!
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