Torn

I've noticed that for the month of September, I have posted only 3 blog entries, on every Monday of the month so far. As the 2 faithful followers of my blog know, I try to post stuff at least 3 times a week, so this sorry turnout for September is an indicator of 2 things: given my you-wouldn't-believe-how-busy work schedule, not only do I have no free time to write, but I am so effing drained from work that I can't think of anything to write about. To any self-respecting blogger, this is unacceptable (not to mention pretty pathetic), so this Friday post is being hastily pecked out to break the alarming I-only-blog-on-Mondays trend.

Begging my 2 readers' indulgence, my tired brain can only think of 1 topic to blog about today, and that is UST's amazing UAAP comeback. The Tigers have stunned UE by hurdling what seemed to be an insurmountable twice-to-beat advantage and trouncing the Warriors in 2 closely contested but well-played matches. And now, after 10 long years, the title-hungry-- nay, ravenous-- Tigers have a legitimate shot at the championship.

Here's the problem. In order for UST to win, Ateneo has to lose.

Let me explain my personal dilemma here. My dad, a UST alumnus, used to be the Tigers' team manager for 9 straight years, from 1993, the beginning of their glorious 4-year reign, to 2002. I witnessed UST's famed "4-peat" throughout my 4 years in high school, and it was easy as pie to get ringside seats to all the games (and that is why, up to this day, I can still score UAAP tix to even the most in-demand matches-- connections, connections ;p). Of course, as soon as I entered college, my allegiance switched to the Blue Eagles, but I have always had a soft spot for UST (I still know all their cheers by heart). And now, the improbable has happened: my 2 teams are meeting in the Finals, for the first time in UAAP history.

No question about it, I will be cheering for Ateneo. But here's my sticky situation: I am the lone Ateneo fan in our house. My parents, my sister (who also graduated from UST), and my brother (who's in UP but holds no neighborly affection for Ateneo) are all rooting for the Tigers to win. For the next 2 weeks, therefore , I am the villain. It's me against the 4 of them. If Ateneo loses, they will be gloating about it for a really long time. If Ateneo wins, they will be bitching about it for even longer. As it is, my parents keep on dissing Ateneans for being overconfident, pompous asses (and I can't exactly contest that-- see my last post). Imagine if the Eagles became champions... but not without violent scuffles, questionable calls, and heated protests from both sides. I would be mercilessly roasted over the coals for the next month or so every time the UAAP is mentioned in conversation. And trust me, my family is pretty damn good at picking on me. At least if Ateneo loses, they'll just be taunting me about it, and might take pity on me after a while.

Now can you blame me if a tiny part of me actually wants UST to win? From where I stand, it looks like the lesser of 2 evils.

So... go Uste? :j