The Final Score: Hello Barako Bull fanatic, are you out there?

 

Oh. You actually clicked on the link. Nice. Salamat. Wait, are you sure? You won’t read about Jimmy Alapag or Ginebra or June Mar Fajardo or Purefoods or Manny Pacquiao or MIEFER or Kobe Bryant. You’ll read about Barako Bull. Or you’ll read about thoughts inspired by Barako Bull. Hello? Are you still there?

 

After Barako Bull became the first team to beat Alaska in the 2015 Philippine Cup on Wednesday night, I remembered my high school classmate Roy Judan. Roy cheered for Presto. He didn’t cheer for Presto the ice cream brand. He cheered for Presto the PBA team. Although, to this day, he insists he only cheered for Presto because of Allan Caidic. 

 

Yet when Caidic moved to San Miguel, a team two million times more popular than Presto, Roy became a lukewarm San Miguel fan at best. Conclusion: Roy loved Presto even if he denied it. He was a hardcore Presto fan although I doubt if a casual Presto fan existed. To love Presto the PBA team, you had to be hardcore. 

 

When Barako Bull shattered Alaska’s once-immaculate record, somewhere in the world a 2014-version of Roy Judan – the modern hardcore Barako Bull fan - jumped in front of his/her television with glee. I doubt, however, if a casual Barako Bull fan exists. To love Barako Bull, you have to be the hardest of hardcore. Right?

 

Because even he denied it, Roy was that kind of fan. To be a true Barako Bull fan, you have to support Denok, JC, Mick, and Willie Wilson the way Roy supported Philip Cezar, Joy Carpio, Atoy Co, and Bernie Fabiosa. 

 

Even if everyone else cheers for Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio, Marc Pingris, and June Mar Fajardo.

 

Even if everyone else cheered for Robert Jaworski, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras or Samboy Lim.

 

In a sense, Barako Bull is for the connoisseur’s connoisseur. Baka nga hardcore isn’t a strong enough adjective. To embrace them is to embrace complexity. Maddening complexity. Please don’t ask, “So ano design ng throwback jersey ng Barako Bull?” That is a rabbit hole you and I should stay away from. 

 

Presto, on the other hand, has clear team lineage. It’s a founding member of the PBA. The team’s modern reputation was partially built on the backbone of stacked Great Taste teams from the mid-80’s that featured Coach Baby Dalupan, Ricardo Brown, Manny Victorino and even Norman Black. Even if they weren’t as popular as, say, Crispa, everyone took the team seriously.

 

As for Barako Bull, I know there are people who don’t take Barako Bull seriously. Yet I know Barako Bull coaches take their work seriously (and I respect them for it) because if not, they’ll end up looking for new jobs. I know Barako Bull players take their work seriously (and I respect them for it) because if not, they might end up starting new careers.

 

As such, Barako Bull is a real team, in a tangible sense. If a Barako Bull player hammers you on the arm, you will feel it. If a Barako Bull player accidentally elbows you on the tonsils, you will feel it. If Barako Bull wins, your team loses. Go ask Alaska: that brand new 1 in Alaska’s 6-1 record is not a hologram. 

 

Um, are you still reading this? If you are, thank you. 

 

Wait. 

 

Maybe you’re reading this because YOU are the 2014 version of my classmate – perhaps the only living soul in our class, batch, even campus who cheered for Presto and not Añejo/Ginebra, Purefoods, or San Miguel. 

 

If so, I want to meet you. Seryoso. I’m curious. I want to know why you embrace Barako Bull’s confounding ways. I want to know how Barako Bull nurtures your fandom. I want to tell you personally how much I respect your startling devotion. 

 

Hello? Hello Barako Bull fanatic? (Looks at iPhone home screen and checks cellular phone signal.) Are you there? — JST, GMA News