22,000 people rocked the SMART-Araneta Coliseum as they wildly supported their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Cheer Dance Competition teams, last September 14.
In order, the National University (NU) Pep Squad, the University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad, and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Salinggawi Dance Troupe took home the first to third bacons.
Now that the #CDC (as how the netizens hashtag-ed their tweets and status updates) hype is lowering – wins have sunk in and losses have been accepted – let us contemplate on the turn-out of events.
Truly, competitions like this does not only entertain us. It does a lot more.
NU Pep Squad teaches us that we cannot please everybody.
For the majority, the “Bulldogs’ ” performance was flawless. In fact, many supporters of the other teams had accepted early on that NU will bag the championship – and so it happened as they garnered 667.5 points from the judges. However, there were still hate comments from the minority.
This just shows that however impressive our performance is, some people will still go against us. Let us be the best that we can be, anyway. In the end, it is not what others think that matter. The journey, the struggle, the inevitable smiles as we see all our efforts come into fruition – all that are what matter.
UP Pep Squad’s themed cheer dance teaches us that we do not need a trophy to be a winner.
With the theme “Pantay-pantay,” UP intellectually (as what they really are: intellectuals) injected a cause to their performance. They imposed gender equality by having gals lift guys on their stunts and inter-school unity by passing on a rainbow cloth among the crowd.
They performed not just to win, but to make a change. Their act alone shows the nature of a champion.
UST’s crowd teaches us what real joy is.
Dancing an oriental-style routine, UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe went back to the game this year after their “worst finish in 19 years”, as how their official student publication described their 2013 performance. They landed at third.
Yes, not first; but during the announcement of winners, guess who the happiest and loudest crowd in the Araneta was— not NU, not UP, but the third placer UST.
That perhaps was the most genuine display of happiness. They are third and they are happy. No “justs” and “buts”.
And what do we learn from the five other universities that participated? That “Hey, we lost and we are okay.”
Sports in its purest sense, everyone comes out a winner.
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