Blue Eagles Visit Adidas

I'm sorry it took me a while to finally write something about the Trinoma experience last Sunday. I have to say it, i was so overwhelmed with the turnout! I totally didn't expect anything close to the number of people who showed up that day. And I am very much delighted of course!

The team gathered together at around 3pm in Abe for a quick bite, courtesy of Adidas. While we were still eating, we were told that the line was starting to pile up in the Adidas shop in the 2nd floor of the mall. I couldn't quite picture the crowd because i was expecting students and alumni supporters of Ateneo to be there to catch a glimpse of the team. At 4pm, we all went down to the shop wearing the clean White Adidas jacket. When we got the store, we were like "Wow! This can't be real!" Not only was the store filled with people inside, the crowd was building up outside as well. What was interesting to note was that most of the people present were not Ateneans. A lot were young high school and college students, mostly girls i should say. There were some cute kids too :) It sure doesn't hurt to feel like the Philippine version of the Jonas Brothers for an afternoon, well at least even 1/10th of their stardom! Haha!

When we entered the shop, we were introduced one by one by the hosts Lia Cruz and Andrei Felix, who also happen to be Adidas endorsers and Ateneo alumni. Then, we proceeded to a long table that's shaped like a letter "U" in order to give everyone a chance to get their posters and apparel signed by each one in an orderly and organized manner. After signing for about 30 minutes, we noticed that the lines weren't getting any shorter. And we were told to sign faster so that the line could progress rapidly. Signatures were getting shorter as well. Jai was beside me and i saw his signature from "Jai Reyes #5" it became "Jai #5". I got tired as well, so from "Chris Tiu #17", it became "Chris T #17". Apparently, two letters make a huge difference. The first few ones in line were still able to get pictures with some of us, but the organizers got stricter and disallowed picture taking so that others could get the chance to get our autographs as well. I do feel bad to see the fans get disappointed, but over the years, i've learned that it's really difficult to please everyone. The next time i checked my watch, it was already 6pm. It was exhausting. I've had two bottles of mineral water during the 2 hour period and i had to take off my jacket because the temperature was rising! I was talking to Oping Sumalinog beside me and he said that he wouldn't mind doing this the whole day if we win the championship!

It was truly an experience that made us feel really grateful for the support coming from the fans from all over! Some even waited as early as 12nn. I thought that those who would be following the Blue Eagles would be mostly Ateneans. It's even more touching to know that the base has extended outside of that circle. And we really appreciate it all! Thank you!

If you guys wanna get your chance as well, I guess you'll have to wait 'til the Bon Fire! :)

Chris