2BU!	Type Size: (+) (-)
You are here: Home > 2BU!

ARTICLE SERVICES   Print this article      Reprint this article     Send as an e-mail     Feedback   RELATED STORIES Next pit stop: Ho Chi Minh Style spoofing Del Potro beats Ferrer in Japan GALLERY 1 Next   Zoom    Read Full Story The controversial Ateneo bonfire logs Advertisement OTHER STORIES Bags for everyone What does your school bag say about you? He’s straight but people think he’s gay ARTICLE SERVICES    Sponsored by: INQUIRER   Print this article      Reprint this article     Send as an e-mail     Feedback

MANILA, Philippines—The students’ explanation for why mud was everywhere during the Ateneo celebratory bonfire? “God really is an Atenean. There was no green grass in sight!”

Although the overriding perception was that the bonfire was primarily in honor of the Men’s Seniors Basketball team, Ateneo had, in the past few weeks, been blessed with an abundance of athletic victories.

Aside from the UAAP seniors division, the Blue Eagles had also scored wins at the SBP level and the UAAP juniors division. And it was not only in hoops that the Eagles excelled. In the water, the Lady Eagle swimmers and the grade school Blue Eaglet swimmers also added notches to their belt. As school president Fr. Ben Nebres S.J. said in his homily at the Mass before the bonfire, “What a week, and what a weekend!”

And so there was the Ateneo community, braving a field that had dissolved into a sinkhole. From college students to high school boys to alumni reliving the days of yore, young and old alike were there to celebrate the guts and determination of the athletes who bore their school’s colors triumphantly.

‘Wickedness’

Then pictures of the firewood began circulating on the Internet and that was, as the saying goes, when the fat hit the fire.

Some of the planks of firewood used at the bonfire had the names of “celebrated” opponents of Ateneo’s defeated basketball foes written in green paint. Among the names were those of Rico Maierhofer, James Mangahas and JV Casio, players on the Green Archers team that Ateneo dispatched in the finals.

Also visible was the name of the La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, planks with “UST Growling Tigers” and “UP Fighting Maroons,” and “Three Blind Mice,” a shout-out to the referees.

La Sallians have pounced on these pictures, reposting them on their blogs and prominent La Salle forums such as ArcherPride.com. As expected, the comments span a wide spectrum, ranging from “I don’t ever want to belong to a group of people who celebrates by practicing wickedness” to “A bonfire would be great, but putting names of people on the wood seems to me as if they are putting a curse on someone. In my opinion, it is unethical and immoral, particularly for a Catholic community.”

It is not known whose idea this was, whether it was the organizers of the bonfire, alumni, or current students. School president Fr. Nebres is said to have issued a statement saying that the school is looking into the matter in response to complaints from La Salle alumni.

Mixed reactions

In the same way, Atenean reaction has been mixed as well. Some have gone out and apologized on their blogs, while others have shrugged it off, saying, “I just think that the whole issue is being blown out of proportion. I don’t think anyone meant this name-burning to be a personal thing... I’m not saying it isn’t in bad taste—yes, it is a bit, er, crude—but a lot of people decrying it as pathetic and classless is just overreaction.”

Whether or not one thinks the matter is worthy of discussion depends largely on one’s sense of humor. You could be thankful that those were only planks of wood and not papier-mâché puppets, which would not have only been rude, but bizarre. On the other hand, there is a sort of macabre humor in it, like how some people find political jokes hilarious.

Fascinating rivalry

And yet, we must still keep in mind that this act is in no way reflective of a greater community, a mindset we should all keep when we also see a rookie make “bang bang” hand gestures at a player who had been shot, or a referee who swears he saw a middle finger, when no video enhancing technology has been able to provide collaborative proof.

The Ateneo-La Salle rivalry is a wonderful thing, not only for students and alumni of the school, but for casual fans as well. It is fascinating with its soap operatic twists and turns. And let’s face it, burning wood is a far cry from the old days when car windows were smashed in and tires punctured after games.

Ateneo celebrated their championship win last Sept. 30, pardon the pun, by throwing another log into the fire to keep this rivalry blazing. You may not like it, or you may not endorse it, but stunts like this and refusing to go out to claim second place keep the fire alive.

In these situations, the Ateneans need the La Sallians, and vice-versa.