oh i love it. i've been reading more, watching news more, watching films more. in between my hormone hell (i cannot find the perfect food for my picky palate and i'm supposed to be entering my second trimester) moments, there are these worthwhile pursuits that beat blogging any day. oops, foot in mouth? what the hey, it's true!
i've watched red carpet stuff with scary joan rivers many times, scoured archives of this and that awards night from the philippines to LA, and i can tell you, when it comes to ogling superstars, nothing beats sports stars. any day.
let me count the reasons.
- absolutely no make-up. i love it when people are interviewed au naturel. maybe not right after they've won (esp basketball and football victors), with all the sweat glistening on their bodies (i just remembered brendan fraser's spoof of a dodo basketball player being interviewed right after a game he's won as the team's hotshot center). i like them after they've showered, the way the wimbledon round one winners looked for their press cons with cnn and bbc. nice!
- sporting the coolest sportswear. beauties like myskina and sharapova throw in eye candy with psychedelic colour coordinated pieces and not just your typical functional sportswear but awesome halter designs. i particularly liked myskina's number today when she salvaged her game to advance to the 2nd round. i think federer looks great in his nike's (but he looks better in the fitted red number he had at roland garros; this loose white ensemble makes him look pale) as does hewitt and... i can't wait, my dream boyfriend, rafa nadal. grabe, i dreamed of him a week after the french open and he was my lover in there!!! talk about latent desires.
- when they're conceited, it's a celebration of true talent anyway. when federer or davenport analyse the things they did right, it can rankle those who are secretly wishing their number one ranking slips (like i do with federer, but only because i like nadal but objectively speaking, he is one fine player who is a joy to watch). they look happy as they describe the forehand winners they sent down the line, the serve and volleys they wish they could do more in future games... watching tony parker, tim duncan, and even rival pistons coach larry brown analyse the frighteningly predictable game-end heroics of the great robert horry was fun, never mind that basketball players usually have a very limited range of vocabulary to express superlatives. they may not be the most articulate people on earth but they sure are among the highest paid.
- when they make a comeback, it's a celebration of the human spirit's triumphs. down from injuries that can practically ruin a person whose bread and butter it is to use the body, players like clijsters, henin-hardenne, and hewitt come scraping back into the spotlight of the major events by sheer will and focus. it's the kind of determination i cannot see in the sorry pool of young showbiz talents in beloved philippines, where the tagline really is "beauty is skin deep". call me biased but i love art in motion as seen by rippling muscles in well toned bodies displaying the best of the sport.
- when everybody who's somebody is aiming for the top, you get top level play from everyone!!! the recent f1 fiasco in indianapolis is testimony to the opposite. you had the bronze medallist ascending the podium for the first time in his racing career because 14 of the cars pulled out of the race! it is pure joy to see the level of play increasing as the game progresses. i love it when i see players with the intent of not letting the other player win easily. nothing beats hustle and passion on any playing field in any sport! awesome.
i see how my list above resonates within my own person. cathy would flunk me in her make-up 101 course and how to dress fashionably even with muta in your eye. my favorite clothes are nike trousers and cross trainers, sports bras and tanggas, and my beloved speedo swimsuit, goggles, and swim cap. badminton rackets and an entire canister of feather shuttle cocks are still waiting to be worn out. i even brought my bokken all the way from the philippines, made of lightweight japanese white oak that eases training strokes by a mile. my gis are all with me and the hakama is gathering moss in my closet. i've forgotten how to fold one!!! grabe, back to zero ako nito sa aikido. so goes my dream to train this year... my being pregnant says that i should avoid high contact sports for the time being. so it's just biking and swimming for me now. i hope my brother bought that gap sports bikini he told me about the other day. it would make my burgeoning belly look way too cool. ha so i'm vain. :)
nba series will be decided this week in san antonio. if the fantastic warm weather persists, my nadal stands a better chance of making it into the 2nd week of the all england club. there's so much to look forward to this summer. thank god for little pockets of joy!
