So who is the real victor in the battle between the Archers and the Eagles?
There is always a winner in every battle, in every game, in every sport.
Tested by time, one of the most known rivalry in the face of Philippine sports, and not just in basketball alone, are donned in the colors of blue and green, of arrows and claws, between the Green Archers of De La Salle University (DLSU) and the Blue Eagles of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
But first, let me first tell you how the legendary rivalry between the Archers and the Eagles began and continued for generations now.
Long ago, back when the two teams were still with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Ateneo and La Salle were not yet archrivals. Ateneo and San Beda were the ones pitted out, while La Salle’s main competitor was Letran.
Things were going quite well for these rivalries, but on 1939, the seeds of the most followed sports rivalry in the country were planted. Ateneo, who was unbeaten yet for that season bit the dust as La Salle dumped them in the slumps with the score of 27-23. After that victory for the Green Squad, chicken bones were thrown at the Padre Faura gate of the Blue Team’s campus, which, legend has it, done by La Salle students.
It was in 1959 when these two teams met again in the Finals of NCAA, and Ateneo had a revenge this time.
However, it was their last matchup in the courts of NCAA as Ateneo transferred to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and then after a few years, after the fans’ violence during a finals game between La Salle and Letran, La Salle then transferred to UAAP as well.
Finally, the seeds of rivalry sprouted and blossomed into a sturdy tree of rivalry that lived through times. It was in UAAP where these two teams battled out the most, for the titles and the championships, not just in basketball but as well as in all the other sports in the league, including both the Juniors and Seniors category.
Sometimes, the love for the sport goes beyond. And as it gets to its most negative point, it gets more physical. Brawls, fist fights, throwing of whatever stuff in the court, all these acts, although violent, are sometimes done by the fans, or sometimes, even by the players in the bench.
As the rivalry went on, there was a time when some of those who were participating in the match threw themselves into the resonating influence of the fist, thus turning the basket game into a basket brawl. Some cases were like in the times of LA Tenorio and Jerwin Gaco back in the Final Four match in 2003, wherein they threw punches with each other in the bench instead of shots in the hoops. These ended up with three players getting suspended.
Physical as it is, sometimes thrash talking, or just happily cheering for their team does not seem enough as some fans resort to such actions when their emotions get the better of them.
As the rivalry continuous, so does the fire in the fans’ hearts have continued blazing today, as recently seen in the latest match between the archrivals, some fans threw plastic bottles, some even raised a dirty finger. Truly, the unified chanting, booing, and reactions seems like not enough in showing their love and support for their teams.
But in this same game, where La Salle bounced back from their loss in the Finals Game 1 against Ateneo and grabbed their one last chance for this season’s championship, Green Archer Ricci Rivero hugged his former teammate Gian Mamuyac, who plays now with the Blue Eagles, after the game.
Despite the heated competition on the court, the ties and friendship between these players of today prove to exceed all these rivalry and competition thing.
If the players can be all sport, why can’t the fans?
Seriously, we all love our teams, and we want to show it to them by supporting and cheering for them to the best that we could. However, if our love for them hurts others already, shouldn’t it be reflected upon and checked whether we are still doing things out of our love or just because it feels good to release all those adrenaline rush. You may argue that we do some unimaginable things in the name of love, but as a fan, the love for the sport, the love for the team, and the love for a player, were not expressed in a violent and physical way, the last time I checked it.
There was a time when I was cheering for a favorite team of mine, the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, against La Salle Lady Spikers in a volleyball game in the UAAP, when suddenly, a middle-aged bald man who was obviously a La Salle fan sat beside me and started saying, “Naku, kami na talaga mananalo.” I responded with NU’s catch phrase with a smile, “We still believe NU (in you).” We continued cheering and making the reactions of a typical sports fan like standing up when your team scored, or snapping at missed moments for the rest of the sets. At the end of the match, the Spikers did win, but I won a friend. The man gave his hand for a friendly shake hand, and I did reach for it. It ended up like how a sports event should end, just being sport.
It’s 2017, and resorting to nasty acts like throwing bottles, papers, coins, or even raising a dirty finger seems barbaric and far from the ideals of sportsmanship. More so, resorting to fist fights and brawls are way out of the league. It is immature, and it does not help anything at all but it just elongates the chain of negativity, violence, and hate.
Yes, the energy in the court is so high, it pumps in our veins and makes our heart beat fast, pounding for every second that passes by, not knowing who will get the ball and where will it go, as we go chanting with the rest of the crowd with the beating of drums and the statement of the trumpets. Thus, the tension and the atmosphere in every game is real that we feel like as if we are part of it, and we really are, trust me. But that does not mean that we can do whatever we want, and that we can just act away based on instincts when things go bad for the team we are cheering on, like punching out the fans of the rival team beside us and the like.
Well, one more thing, this is a rivalry of schools known for its elitism to begin with, so putting up such acts seem inappropriate.
Like Ricci and Gian, may the avid fans and followers of the Archers and the Eagles remain true to the ideals and values of sportsmanship. One of which is camaraderie, and by this, I speak of the unifying love that we have not just for the team, but our love for the sport of basketball. After all, we loved the sport first before we fell in love with a team.
Because at the end of the day, the fans are always the winners of these sporting events, not to mention the producers and organizers because the sales of the tickets and the merchandise for this rivalry is really record breaking.
Going back to the point, we pour out our hearts in cheering for our team, and they also bring out their best, bleeding out blue or green, to determine the better one in this sport that we both love. Whether it’s a win or lose, we see our favorite team performing at their best, which is something we should be proud and still be supportive to them at all costs, because we love them, and we love the sport, and isn’t that what love is supposed to be about?###
