By Reuel Vidal

I’VE always known Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings fans to be among the most passionate, most involved fans in the Philippine Basketball Association, but I’ve never realized just how passionate until recently.

Last Monday, the subject of my column was my interview of Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants coach Ryan Gregorio (which was also aired over dzRH Sunday last week) and we talked about his team’s performance and how popular Purefoods has become over the years.

We discussed a whole gamut of subjects, including how much better James Yap and Kerby Raymundo were playing, how much better the team has become, and how popular the team has become to the point that a recent survey revealed that Purefoods was now the most popular team in the league.

Was I surprised to get so many reactions not from Purefoods fans but from Ginebra fans insisting that their team is still the most popular team in the PBA. I received many e-mails and a deluge of text messages protesting my statement that Purefoods is now the most popular team in the PBA.

Below are samples of the text messages.

Good p.m. Mr. Reuel Vidal. Ginagalang ko po ang opinion ninyo sa sinabi ninyo sa show ninyo last Sunday sa dzRH. Pero sana igalang din ninyo itong opinion ko.

Aping-api na po ang Ginebra sa tatlong sisters ng San Miguel Corp. Sa tatlong sister teams ng San Miguel ay sila palagi ang huling tinutulungan pagdating sa pagpapasikat sa three teams ng SMC. Mukhang naka-focus lang big boss nila sa San Miguel Beer at Purefoods.

Madalas ilagay diyan sa dalawang teams na iyan ay certified stars na. Samanlatalang sa Ginebra madalas bench players inilalagay nila. Pero kahit gayun pa man ay nanatili pa rin ang suporta sa kanila ng mas nakakarami.

Totoo naman po iyon. Kahit walang Kris Aquino, Maricar de Mesa na sumusuporta ay sila pa rin silang no. 1 crowd-drawer ng PBA. Hindi na po ’yan magbabago. Kahit maging import pa ng iba diyan sila Kobe Bryant o LeBron James ay Ginebra pa rin kami. +63909-411-5652.

Good a.m.! I just want to defend the hottest team of the league today and that is Ginebra. I suggest that dapat Luzon at Visayas at Mindanao ang survey ninyo.

I am Elizabeth from d webBekians Club and based on my survey. Never nalampasan ng Purefoods ang Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in terms of kasikatan. At kung performance din lang naman sa games, lamang na lamang ang Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.

Ginebra is the most famous and most adored team in the PBA. +63918-767-8873.

Good morning po. Gusto ko lang ipaalam sa inyo ng Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings ang pinakapopular na team ngayon. Siguro ’pag nalampasan ng Purefoods ang record ng Ginebra saka pa lang ako maniniwala na Purefoods ang pinakasikat na team.

And maniniwala din ako na kung wala si James Yap ang Purefoods baka panglima lang sa sikat na team. Aminin na din natin na malaki ang naitutulong ni Kris Aquino doon. My Clan kami na lahat ng member eh Ginebra fans. Smart, Globe and Sun. Lahat ng network na iyan ay may member kami. Iyon lang po. Good a.m. po. +63908-239-7336.

Okay, I stand corrected. Ginebra remains the most popular team in the PBA. Now please stop texting me.

You will not believe the number of e-mail I received. But what amazed me most are the dozens and dozens of text messages I received, which started arriving Sunday afternoon, the day the Ryan Gregorio interview was aired over dzRH, and still continued until Sunday afternoon (as I am typing this column.)

That will teach me to open my big fat mouth and speak against Ginebra, the most popular team in the PBA.

But this actually begs the question: How did they manage to get my cell phone number? Hmm. Maybe somebody in the PBA is pulling my leg?

Anyway, thanks for listening to the radio program and for reading my column, guys. But next time please don’t text but rather e-mail those reactions.


Source: Manila Standard Today