Financial scandals have also plagued the Games in one form or another.

Let the Games begin! And indeed, the Games have begun with a bang, in more ways than one. The Games I refer to are the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games that have just taken the consciousness of the Filipinos like a storm or perhaps I should say, to be more accurate, in the middle of a storm.

As I write this article, a possible superstorm, Typhoon “Tisoy,” with winds of about 140 km/hr is expected to hit the different venues in Luzon, including the National Capital Region which weather forecasters say is in the eyewall of “Tisoy.”

The SEA Games which the Philippines is hosting for the fourth time, are a regional multi-sport event held every other odd year. The 30th SEA Games official opening ceremony over the weekend was marked with a stirring display of flag-waving patriotism that left a lump in my throat as the Philippine delegation marched and danced joyously to the 1970’s popular pop group Hotdog’s hit tune “Manila,” infecting not only the athletes but also President Duterte and the almost 50,000 people in attendance at the Philippine Arena. The musical prowess of the Filipinos was proudly in full display as various artists and dancers magnificently performed sentimental love songs, bouncy tunes, indigenous and modern dances showcasing our unique Filipino culture.

The opening ceremony ended with literally a bang as multi-colored fireworks of various shapes filled the Bulacan moonlit skies. It was a great feeling watching all that on cable. I might add as great as watching the amazing Blue Eagles put the finishing touches on their perfect season!

What are these Games all about? The Games were conceptualized in 1958 by six founding member-countries in the region notably, Thailand, which is the host country of the governing organization, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos and Vietnam. The first SEA Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1959 with 518 athletes participating in 12 sports. By 1977, the Games saw the participation of three new member-countries, namely the Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia. And finally, by 2003, Singapore and Timor-Leste completed the 11-member federation of Southeast Asian countries symbolized by the eleven rings we now see in the SEA Games flag. For this 30th Games, we are hosting 5630 athletes who will be participating in 529 events in 56 different sports.

In terms of medal count, as of 2017, Thailand dominates the field with 5810 medals of which 2162 are gold, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. The Philippines lags at fourth with 3351 with 918 gold medals. These medal counts, however, have been somewhat less than sacrosanct. The SEA Games rules allow the host country to adjust the number of sports so as a consequence, hosts have gamed the rules to their advantage. Sporting events unique or advantageous to the host country and unfamiliar to the other competing countries are typically included in the games by the host country providing an edge in the medal chase.

For example, in 2001, Malaysia included petanque and netball. At the 2007 Games, Thailand added sepak takraw and futsal. In 2011, Indonesia introduced bridge, paragliding and wall climbing. At the 2013 Games, Myanmar included indigenous sports Chinlon, kempo and bovinam. In 2017, Malaysia introduced ice hockey, cricket and figure skating. For this 2019 version, the Philippines is no different. We have new games like ESports, obstacle course race, underwater hockey, skateboarding and 3×3 basketball.

But the Games have also not been spared from controversies. As recent as the last SEA Games in Malaysia in 2017, there were several controversial incidents that were widely reported. After a soccer game where the host country beat Myanmar, at least 11 Myanmar nationals were viciously attacked by Malaysian fans. In another soccer game, Malaysian football supporters chanted derogatory words referring to the Singapore players as dogs who should be killed. In another football related incident, after beating the Malaysian team, the Myanmar ladies football team were left waiting for two hours for their bus to take them back to the hotel. And what was thought to be a relatively minor snafu that also got a lot of media mileage was when the Indonesian flag was inadvertently printed in a souvenir booklet by the Malaysian organizers upside down causing a furor back in Jakarta with Indonesians clamoring for an end to diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Financial scandals have also plagued the Games in one form or another. In the 2011 Games in Indonesia, no less than the Treasurer of the country’s Democratic Party was accused of accepting $3 million in bribes. Game fixing on the other hand was the big story in the 2005 Games when eight football players from Vietnam were charged and eventually found guilty of fixing a game against Myanmar. In case you are wondering what the relevance of these various blackmarks are to the 30th Games, well, other than the news about Typhoon Tisoy, am fairly positive that there is hardly any soul out there which have not read about the P50M kaldero, or the alleged kikiam that turned out to be chicken sausages or athletes waiting for hours in the airport for their rides or having to sleep on chairs in hotel lobbies or the unfinished facilities, all endlessly shared on social media. There have been loud cries of indignance for these shameful incidents as there equally have been charges that these are politically motivated fake news. I guess what I am trying to say is, sh%#t does happen. But the point is, the Games have started and we Filipinos have shown the world during the opening ceremony that we are a proud, happy and amazing people who are prepared and ready to give our Southeast Asian neighbors a great time in the Philippines for the next two weeks!