This is an editorial taken from the Guidon, the Ateneo school paper. I have made my scathing comments about the inanity of the writing and the silly assertions in my blog, so if you want to read me dissect the entire editorial, just click the link on my signature.

Nonetheless, I want to hear what you guys think about this, particularly the people from DLSU. This guy makes me ashamed to have been an alumnus of Ateneo. Seriously.

The Blue-Green Symbiosis
by Gerald Santos

This writer has been visiting online forums that are all about Team Ateneo for the past month. The busiest threads have been about archrival De La Salle’s (DLSU) suspension for this Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season.

I won’t tell you what I have read or seen in these forums but all of them have been shouting the same thing: Without DLSU, Ateneo (ADMU) will win this year's UAAP championship.

Yes, hardcore Blue and White fans have been jumping for joy that the Blue Eagles’ primary tormentor is gone. Without the boys from Taft, nobody would be shooting down the Eagles’ title run.

These assumptions are made with good reason. With DLSU gone and Far Eastern University (FEU) reeling from the departures of their three best players, the only other serious title contender would be the smallish squad of the University of the East (UE).

Money in the bank, some would go far as to say.

Before I continue, the next line will come as some sort of a shock. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

I’d rather see ADMU lose to DLSU rather than see AMDU win the championship without facing DLSU.

Yes, you read it right. I’d rather see the Blue Eagles get blasted by 30 points from the Green Archers. It may be ugly, but I'd take it over a blowout win against National University (NU).

First, there is a danger in saying that the UAAP title is in the bag. The danger lies in the possibility of ADMU failing to defend the championship in Season 70. If the Blue Eagles fail to repeat, they would be branded as flukes. What's more, people would reason out that the Blue Eagles won because their toughest opponent - arguably, DLSU - didn't play this year.

It's like an officer getting elected into office without any opposition. If that officer fails later on, the failure is magnified tenfold.

Second, you might have heard the phrase “this is where we separate the men from the boys.” Games tagged as such are always expected to be tightly-contested, with the final score not decided until the final buzzer. The winning team shows the heart of a champion. The losing team succumbs to the pressure.

An ADMU - DLSU game is always of high significance, whether it be elimination, Final Four or Finals. Nobody backs down. Nobody wants to be embarrassed in front of their schools. Nobody wants to lose to the other.

In short, an ADMU – DLSU tussle, apart from entertaining, is the ultimate test of character.

Third, greatness in basketball – contrary to popular belief – is not just about making the game statistician furious because the stat sheet gets so filled out. It is also measured by the effort that comes with these stats. Measured by the leadership a player shows. Measured by the composure, confidence, and heart that a player shows when they are needed the most.

An ADMU - DLSU encounter, apart from being beneficial to media outfits – is a match where the men are distinguished from the boys. Nothing is more beautiful than two teams slugging it out for pride and school spirit. This is where defining moments are made. Remember Larry Fonacier’s (MA Comm) two last-second blocks on Mark Cardona that sealed a Game 1 win in the 2002 Finals? Surely, Fonacier would not be the player he is now if not for that moment.

If you’re getting my drift, the Blue Eagles actually need the Green Archers.

It is a mutual relationship. All the key members of the 2002 championship team – Fonacier, Enrico Villanueva (MA ‘04), and Rich Alvarez (AB ‘04), to name a few – went on to have continuing success in the pro league. Being able to face the Green Archers in the biggest stage and in the biggest college game is the best preparation for the tougher, grind-it-out professional game.

Putting this in better perspective, the relationship can be compared to a coach and a player. A coach may go hard at first on his player, may beat him in their initial scrimmages, but as time goes by, the player gets better.

ADMU basketball is relevant because of DLSU. And DLSU basketball is relevant because of ADMU. There’s no other way you could say it.

Let me just make one comment: today, more Lebanese will die. Today, some kid will starve to death on the sidewalk. Maybe next week, a storm will wreck a home and drown somebody in the provinces.

And this author calls collegiate basketball relevant?

I rest my case.

To bad I don't even know who the heck these teams are (yeay for us ignorant americans)? :biggrin:

I do agree with the writer about how I would rather my team beat all of the best competition to prove they were infact the best.

What was your feeling on this or did you write the Blue-Green article which would make your opinion quite obvious.

Is the only objection to the article the use of the word "relevant" to describe collegiate basketball? Regardless of the tragedy in the world, these issues are perfectly relevant to people immersed in the sport; it's all a matter of scope and immediate priorities. For example, most people aren't going to think less of a coach for spending more time on getting his team to win than on volunteering down at the local Shelter.

what's wrong with it? It's from the Ateneo school paper. :sweatface:

Oh... wait, your mad because of the fact that he is more worried about the game than human life? I must have skipped over that part at the end because I thought this was a rant against his theories.

I could say the same thing about how is anime relevant to life? Their are poor children dieing on the street from starvation yet people keep buying these movies instead of giving it to the poor. Blah blah blah.

So that whole argument doesn't hold up with me.


Ps. Maybe I am not getting the whole story (is there more to it than this)? Is he writing this in reply to someone talking about human rights? I mean what set you off so much about this?

Um, I dun find anything wrong with the article, though its more of a sports article than a front page scoop...
The writer is obviously a devout UAAP fan, who loves to watch the age-old collegiate basketball rivalry of DLSU vs ADMU...Nothing wrong with that, it is his point of view, and its how the rivalry seems to hold special meaning to him...To compare his emphasis on placing relevance on collegiate basketball, to that of world peace, hunger and strife is "unfair"...Is it much better to publish "Lebanese are dying everyday" on a school paper? Just some thoughts, I think some things need not be complicated, just read it for the simple article that it is... :smile:

I didn't write all my objections to his article because they were going to make the post too long. You can check one of my older blog entries for that.

However, let's start with this...

1. If you were UST or NU, how pleased would you feel to be dismissed outright from contention?

2. Grammar errors, cliche's (I counted SIXTEEN.), and illogical analogies pepper his entire article. This is PUBLISHED work, for crying out loud, not just some blog entry.

3. This article is testament to how far the "school paper" has fallen. There was a time when The Guidon was actually something relevant, and not just a tabloid magazine hiding under the guise of a school paper. Not only did the topics degenerate over time, apparently, even the QUALITY of writing did, too.

4. On relevance: He made the claim that ADMU and DLSU basketball are mutually relevant to each other. I'd like him to say that to the DLSU team who ignored that "mutual relevance" in FOUR OUT OF THE LAST FIVE championships that they won, where ADMU was nowhere to be found during the finals. Even a claim like that falls flat, quite obviously. DLSU clearly doesn't need ADMU to validate its championship runs.

Heh, it would actually help if I new who these teams actually were? :biggrin:
I might be able to offer good counter-points or simply agree with you then.
Now the grammer issue happens alot. I mean its a school correct? They do have editors and usually catch a bunch of errors but I don't see them being on the same level as lets say a professional magazine, or book publisher (who consequently, both have grammer errors in everything they publish). Though 13 is a tad high for 1 article this is from a country where English is their second language.

Well, to put it in NBA terms, Ateneo was like the Jazz during the second Bulls' 3-peat, except they won one finals series.

The running argument was that with the Bulls out, the Jazz were a shoo-in to win, but we all know that didn't happen, since it was the Spurs that won the following season.

As for the grammar/cliche's, the editing was LOADS better just a year ago. That alone should give you a hint on the fall of quality. I guess you have to have been reading the school paper before for you to see a comparison.

the main problem with this article, really, is that it shows how deluded people get when it comes to how great their school is in any aspect. the funny thing is, students who've been in Ateneo all their lives are exponentially less likely to be fanatical than students who only started studying there in college.

Like I said in my last post: "What's wrong with it? It's for the Ateneo school paper."

It's for the ATENEO school paper.

It's for the Ateneo SCHOOL PAPER.

(this isn't an objection to the article in particular, but It's for the Ateneo "school paper".)

It's for the ATENEO school paper.

You, my friend, are mean. :tongue:

Kuni, I laughed for so, so, long at your responses. They were so clear and direct; thank you for brightening my day. I love that kind of humor.

Well, congratulations to UST on a well-deserved victory.

Looks like Ateneo forgot that to make some green, you need some YELLOW to go with your blue. :P