The Comfort Rooms

Philippines At The AFF Suzuki Cup 2010: Not Bad At All!

There must be riot in the streets of Jakarta right now.

After getting into the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, everyone should be in party mode - the President, the spectators, people at home, all13,500 islands of Indonesia, the players, and especially that Bahraini referee.

It was a well-deserved victory for them. That small chocolate-brown guy was a handful, Gonzales was just too good (and that first half goal ?!?) and Markus the goalkeeper just wouldn't let any Filipino goal in.

More than the partying in Jakarta right now, some thousand miles north would be a quiet capital of Manila. People has just witnessed its football team beaten by a superior team. Anyone would consider the match as tight, but a goal will make all the difference in the world. And what difference it did in favor of Indonesia.

Despite the loss, the Philippine team will come home as heroes. The sport long-forgotten in the annals of Filipino sports consciousness has finally been given the attention it so deserved. There must be a reason why this is called the world's most popular sport. There must be a reason for all this excitement revolving around the sport. There must be a reason why people go crazy before, during and after matches. THIS must be the reason why I converted myself (including scores of other Filipinos) to this sport.

Football, meet the Philippines. The Philippines, meet football.