Azkals vs. Icheon by Miguel Salvador

It was after classes and I was rushing to go the the MRT to go to Rizal Memorial Stadium. In the back of my head as i traveled, all I could think about was the many star athletes I would get to see up close when I get to the stadium (and the many sweaty people I'm trying to avoid in the cramped up MRT). I was so proud and thankful to have an opportunity like this (thanks Sir Rick) that I kept bragging to my parents that I would get to watch an Azkals game live. My mom got so jealous and said i should bring her with me to the game.

Arriving at the stadium, my hair was rising because you could really tell that this was a big deal event with all the security guards around that looked like huge boulders on steroids. Even entry was hard. But as I got in, and met up with my classmates, and was briefed on the things we could do, and the limitations we had, it was then that i realized that we weren't here for sight seeing but to work and experience what it was like to manage a press con.

Our job was simple, to register the media and photographers who would go to the game. It was fine, but to be honest, it was boring. It was a job that could be done by 2-3 people and there was 5 of us. Everything in the Media Room was slow as well. People would come and go and would sometimes ask us about things we have no idea about. Later on as there were more and more people coming in, and more and more questions were being asked, it was getting more difficult for us because we started sounding like idiots who kept on saying sorry for not knowing what to say or do. This was, for me, the most frustrating part about not being completely briefed or at least being given more information on where to point whoever to answer their questions. As Christopher Lao said several times, "I should have been informed!" The briefing was also kind of a flop for me because most of the media people were late. I just hope they were able to know what they needed to know.

What was disappointing also was that not all the players were present on this game. I, myself, am not a fan of soccer nor the azkals and the only people I really knew in the team were the Younghusbands and Etheridge because of the hype they got on TV. So it was really a downer that the players here were kind of unknown.  But in the media room, you could hear reporters and media people talking about the players. It was here that I really got some information so that I wouldn't look like a total noob. Plus, interacting with these media people was hilarious because they cracked jokes and was totally friendly. It was the kind of ambiance that where it might be fun to be friends with all the people there.

The most exciting part was when i actually started watching the game. At first i was bored to tears because as i said, i really am not into soccer/football. As soon as the Koreans scored, i started dozing off. 70+min later, i started watching and Angeles scored all of a sudden! It was a total rush of adrenaline! I WAS HAVING FUN! From that moment till the end, i watched it till the kick out ended. It was sad that we lost but to experience this for the first time was great.

Icheon Player and Coach

The game ended, there we were rushing to ready the Media Room to ready the press conference. I was excited because i imagined this to be just like the ones in the movies where there were many reporters trying to ask a lot of questions. Once again, reality exceeded expectations because there was barely any media people in the room. The room was barely filled with the reporters. I just thought to myself that maybe the Filipinos were just late (as usual). The Korean couch with their team member entered and there was barely any questions asked.

Angeles and Coach Michael Weiss

When Angeles and Coach Weiss came into the media room, the place got more intense and more questions were asked to the seemingly shy Angeles. Coach Weiss on the other hand sounded very strong and seemed like a bad person to mess with.

As a whole, I was kind of okay with the experience. No doubt i learned something new about Press Conferences, soccer, football and the press. But what interested me was what Sir Icko was doing. I really would want to see what sir Icko or what sir Rick does in these press conferences. Them running around, checking if everything is going well is something i would want to witness first hand. I feel like the rush of blood of managing the entire thing is a more interesting experience. Someday, I hope I would get to experience or witness what sir Icko is doing. (Konting parinig lang! haha!) Or maybe I'm interested in what they are doing because i haven't seen them do exactly what they are doing. The mystery is so compelling! Till next time!

-Migo Salvador