Floyd Mayweather boasted today about how he was "greater than the greatest". I learned about this since his statement was apparently important enough to make most of the front pages of the national and local newspapers. I used to think the headlines were for things of great importance, not for the "greater than the greatest". I digress. Floyd is referring to Muhammad Ali, a boxer who was known as the "greatest" and many would consider him so. Floyd is, in effect, claiming he is bigger than the boxing Jesus.
Me and my mother were having breakfast one morning. Small talk eventually led to the MayPac bout because of course it would. She didn't follow boxing but told me that she hoped Manny would win. I asked her why she hoped so. She told me that she'd like to see Manny win because that Floyd person was so arrogant.
I was reminded immediately of pro wrestling. In pro wrestling, you have a good guy fight the bad guy. The bad guy would do all sorts of things to get the crowd to hate him. He'd insult the local sports team, denounce America and so on. The logic was that people would pay good money to see the bad guy get his ass kicked by the American hero. It's catharsis. It's nice to see a bad guy get his comeuppance and for good to prevail; the feeling of revulsion, triumph then relief.
Of course, boxing isn't a fixed fight but the principle is the same. It's Floyd's way of drumming up the hype for the fight. By making arrogant, semi-ridiculous boasts, Floyd is not only generating buzz for the media but also getting people to hate him enough to want to pay to hopefully see his ass kicked. Ironically, Muhammad Ali knew this as well. Why do you think Muhammad Ali called himself the "greatest" in the first place? He knew how it worked. He crafted his own cocky persona that would generate the hype and hate.
We are all salesmen. In our everyday interactions with other people and society at large, we are selling our image. From the way we dress down to the way we walk, we project what we want others to think of us consciously or subconsciously. We are all the heroes of our own storybooks; the leading actors of the movies of our lives and like movie stars, it is necessary to craft an image with wide appeal and fit for mass consumption.
Floyd is probably only acting like an arrogant prick for the reasons I already stated. Even if he is an arrogant person in real life, that's irrelevant. What matters is his persona and the interest it generates. You have to understand Americans. They like a guy with a cocky swagger. The tastes have changed but there is still an appeal to what he does.
You look at Manny and you already know the storyline. It's so obvious. In fact, it seems almost made-to-order for the Philippine market. A man from humble origins... poor and downtrodden Kid Kulafu. He fought his way to the top. He fought for his country... for us. Jeez, that's cheesy but it works. Filipinos eat it up.
But the real reason why Manny is so beloved by the country is that he lived the part. He's the real method actor. Manny did in fact, come from humble origins. The best stories are those with a bit of truth in them, which is why despite Floyd's boastful claims, it's easy for people who pay attention to see through the gimmick.
We are all salesmen. PNoy for example, isn't a very good salesman and is a very lousy actor in the tragicomedic play that is his life. The son of heroes is he! He is honorable and pure. He is light and his enemies are darkness. Anyone against him is corrupt and allied with the forces of evil. I've written before how PNoy is a victim of his own mythology. What happens when the actor does not match the character? The best stories are those with truth in them. PNoy liked to sell this idea that he was righteous solely because he came out of the vagina of a righteous person. But the actor did not play his part very well. He wasn't who he said he was. That's why his approval rating is so low. You can't make a sale when nobody is buying.
Look at Mar Roxas. He's even worse. Mar likes to direct traffic, haul bags of onions and other menial tasks in an attempt to look relatable to the common man. Nobody bought it. He looked ridiculous. Poor actor. Poor salesman.
Can you imagine a man like Jaime Zobel de Ayala manning a counter at McDonalds in order to look relatable to food service personnel? How about Lucio Tan collecting garbage to appear like a good public servant? You can't sell false stories. Not even businessmen tycoons like them are skilled enough to sell themselves like that. It takes a certain cunning and skill to change roles like a chameleon changes color. It's called charisma.
So in the end, here we have Manny vs. Floyd. It's a battle between a humble and pious Filipino boy vs. the smug American coward. People will pay. People want to see how the movie ends since it really is unpredictable. If Manny wins, songs of victory will be sung and the hero vanquishes the villain. If Floyd wins, then a new tale will be spun from whole cloth to suit the needs of whoever.
What's your story?
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