Much ado about Michael Martinez

Much ado about Michael Martinez

"When you blame others, you give up your power to change." ROBERT ANTHONY

By Alex P. Vidal

There they go again. Because of too much excitement upon seeing a lone Pinoy entry carrying the national flag in the opening ceremonies and performing in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, some fans have embarked on usual buck-passing and blaming game, hitting the government for its "failure" to support the 17-year-old figure skater Michael Martinez.
To paraphrase JFK's famous quote, why can't we just think of what we can do for our country instead of always thinking of what our country can do for us?
It seems we are the only sports fans around the globe that have this temerity to always blame our government and swallow hook, line and sinker any cinderalla-type story attached to the life of any athlete who performs internationally.
We can always celebrate the achievement of any Filipino athlete and win the admiration of people around the world without necessarily taking potshots at our government -- unless necessary.

CONTINGENT

Big or small contingent, we must view Martinez's presence in the Winter Olympics with much pride and dignity. Other countries also send small delegations even in major sporting competitions like the World Cup and Summer Olympic Games, and their governments get popular support from their citizens, not brickbats and tirades. 
When we attack our government in media in relation to the Sochi Games, the whole world is watching and listening. When we embarrass our government, we embarrass our own athletes. And they get demoralized. We just hope Martinez, our lone hero in the Sochi Games, was unfazed by the noise of do-gooders back home.
Instead of focusing on the greatness of a Filipino athlete who made it to the Sochi Olympics despite an uphill climb in the pre-qualifying round, we gave highlight to the gripes of his mother, Teresa, who reportedly mortgaged their house just to ensure that her son makes it to the quadrennial games. She may be telling the truth in a hope to generate support from public.

STORY

After the story was out, netizens and fans in social media started to act as spokespersons for the Martinez family going ballistics and hitting the "corrupt" government from pillar to post. Shallow.
Were they blaming the government that Martinez failed to make the cut for the bronze medal or because Team Philippines sent only a lone delegate?
The accusations that the Philippines did not support Martinez were incredible if not irresponsible. In the first place, Martinez would not have made it to the qualifying round and eventually to the Olympics proper if his entry was not endorsed by the Philippines Olympics Committee (POC).
Before a Filipino athlete can get a financial support from the Philippine government, he must be a qualified member of  the national sports association (NSA) in his event. Philippine Skating Union, where Martinez supposedly belongs, should be officially recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) in order to avail financial support for the skaters' training and food allowances. One of the requirements is a registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and submission of set of officers and board of directors.

RECOGNIZED

If the Philippine Skating Union is a PSC-recognized NSA, it's most likely that Martinez availed financial assistance from the government for his training and exposure in international competitions prior to the Sochi Winter Olympics.
We're not speaking on behalf of the government here; the job of explaining this matter falls within the ambit of Philippine sports officials. They are duty-bound to clarify and explain this matter so that fire-brand and gullible fans, who took turns in lambasting the "corrupt" Philippine government only because Martinez's parents were "hard up", would be enlightened and educated.