THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
“What’s social media abuzz with these days?”
That was the question I asked a staff of our public information office in Antipolo City. I wanted to know what netizens are discussing in the virtual platform. That piece of information, I thought, is a good indicator of what people are concerned with or distracted by.
A brief analysis by the staff member showed that COVID-19-related news items, commentaries and rants still top the list of “hot” social media content. It is good to note that people are reading announcements posted by local government units, national government agencies, media, and health experts.
This is followed by posts by the new breed of online entrepreneurs who continue to showcase their merchandise in social media.
In third place are the usual social media fare — pictures of delectable dishes. The difference is that social media habitues are now posting dishes they themselves have prepared. Before the advent of the pandemic, most of the posts were from food trips and culinary adventures.
In fourth place are posts about the past. Some social media sites have stored up memories of posts done from one year ago. It was noticed that many are now clicking the “share” button for these posts with captions conveying their longing for the return of the good old times.
Slowly moving up in the ladder of attention are sports-related posts — basketball, in particular. There was a minor burst of excitement at the news that the US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) has returned and may now be watched over certain channels on cable television.
The level of excitement may not have been sustained. This must have been due to unmet expectations. There were observations that the size of the crowd and the intensity of the NBA games were nowhere near the pre-pandemic levels. It appears many had hoped that the return of the league would somehow ease the feeling of doldrums that came with the quarantine season.
Sports-related news made a minor comeback in social media in the wake of a series of unfortunate events that hit the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Netizens woke up one morning to the news that an exodus of key players of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) men’s basketball team had begun.
The news got more sizzle out of the fact that the first in line in the exodus was the captain ball of the team and one of the school’s most promising players. His exit triggered a floodgate of transfers by other key players into the waiting arms of schools playing in this and the other collegiate league.
The saga of the school and its team was made more exciting by the move of the league management to impose sanctions on parties involved in what is dubbed the “bubble training” — an alleged disregard for the protocol laid down by the national government. The ultimate fate of these parties and the school involved is still being awaited.
Another development expected to create a renewed excitement in sports is the reopening of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) season. Last we heard, the participating teams, league officials, and the technical support crews are ready to begin skirmishes which will be played out in a venue outside of Metro Manila.
The reopening of the league is now in the hands of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF).
It is understandable that developments in the world of sports should continue to attract public attention.
While some may see sports events as nothing more than a modern version of man’s uncivilized craving for physical domination of others, scientists have found value in people’s involvement in sports — even as mere spectators.
In September, 1991, two scientists — one from the University of Kansas and the other from Murray State University — published the result of their research on the positive effects of involvement in sports teams. According to their study, “strong identification with a specific sports teams provides a buffer from feelings of depression and alienation.”
“It fosters feelings of belongingness and self-worth,” they said, adding that this also led to lower levels of “perceived alienation from others.”
Other studies showed that we love watching sports because we actually feel like we are part of the game ourselves. They say our brains create for us a perception and sensation that we ourselves are dribbling the leather and jumping high for a dunk.
There’s value to getting the sports leagues restarted — with the necessary steps to protect all parties involved from possible infection by the COVID-19 virus. Before the pandemic, the games gave us a reprieve from the tension of our daily grind. Today, the games could help people deal with the emotional and psychological toll that the pandemic has exacted on them.
There is science to back this view.
Shall we “let the games begin”?
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