Going the Distance

As those of you who are FB friends with Dave or Joshua know, Joshua recently returned from Singapore where his team, “I,Pagasa,” won Singacup 2014, a first time win for any Philippine team in the tournament.  It wasn’t his usual school team but a hand picked team of a two-year-old club located on another island. They did not allow a single goal during the entire tournament.

Joshua loves to tell stories, which he tells me is “talking,” not really telling stories. Upon his return I expected stories about the opponents and how tough they were.  He mentioned them a little bit, but most of the stories were about the antics of his teammates. This team succeeded because of talent AND great team chemistry, something that a skills test or a team tryout cannot always predict. Two of Joshua’s I,Pagasa teammates play for a fierce rival team in Cebu City,  but it never became an issue on the field.

When I chatted online with Joshua while he was gone, I asked him whom he considered a close friend on the team. Without hesitation, he said Lou (not his real name).  Joshua and Lou played together on a club team in 2012 but had since gone separate ways.  He would see Lou at various city soccer tournaments and they would greet one another, but that was about it.

Lou looks grateful after the victory

Joshua and his Cebu City teammates

The moms of the players decided to meet the team at the airport at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and then go to a local beach near the airport to celebrate with lechon baboy, a whole roasted pig—snout, tail, legs, and lots of fatty meat. While at the beach, I learned Lou’s story from another mom.

When Lou was 10, he woke up one morning to discover that his mother had abandoned him and his four younger siblings.  Lou was left in charge of the family as his father was working overseas.  After some time passed (not sure how long), an aunt took in all five children despite already having five children of her own.  His family eats on credit at a local store and his father sends money from time to time to pay the debt.  Lou was able to get a full scholarship for a good private school in Cebu.

Joshua loves Lou’s spirit. He has never given into defeat and he has never given up on his family. He consistently shows gentleness and respect to others.  I wouldn’t question Lou if he were bitter, but he’s just not.  While in Singapore, Joshua dared Lou to ask a girl for a photo. Lou did it. The girl said no, but Joshua was still on the hook because Lou actually had the courage and asked.

This anecdote seems insignificant in light of the week’s events, but it’s just about young men being friends and not caring about differences that could separate them. They’ll always remember the victory and to go along with it they have the silly, memorable friendship moments that were not captured in any photo. They were captured in much deeper places.

When the team walked off the field after the final victory, there were many tears of joy. However, tears of sadness came when they said goodbye to one another at the airport. Those tears said, “The win was nice, but winning for one another was better.”