JANUARY 17  is   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.

King, of course, was an American clergyman and revered  Baptist leader  known for his role in the  advancement of civil  rights  in  the  United States and  around the world. A civil rights activist, he became a national  icon  in the history of American  liberalism.

One of his legacies in the world is a  17-minute public speech  before  a  crowd of 200,000 civil   rights supporters at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington  entitled “I  Have a  Dream” in   which  he  called for  racial  equality and  an end to discrimination.

MLK is one of my idols.

And  maybe  because it’s MLK’s Day, I  have a  dream  today.

It  is  a  dream  deeply  rooted in   the   great  Philippine dream.

I   have a dream   that one day  Philippine  sports  will   rise up  and   finally live  up  to the  true Olympic  motto of  “Citius, Altius, Fortius” or  “Faster,  Higher,  Stronger.”

I  have  a dream  that one day our sports leaders and athletes will  finally  agree to what  the  great  sportswriter  Grantland   Rice once wrote:  “For  when   the  great scorer  comes  to write against your name,   He  marks  not  that  you won or lost, but  how you  played the game.”

I  have a dream that one day genuine unity in sports will be finally   achieved  and camaraderie among   sports leaders and  athletes will be  finally realized.

I  have a dream today.

I have a dream that  one day  the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and its president  Jose “Peping” Cojuangco will reach out and offer the hand of peace even to his most bitter detractors for  the  sake of unity in sports.

I  have a dream that the Philippine  Sports  Commission  (PSC)  and  its    head  Richie Garcia and  his  commissioners --  Chito Loyzaga,  Akiko Thomson, Buddy Andrada and Jolly Gomez --  will  truly extend government support to the  most deserving  athletes and sports associations  without fear  or  favor.

I  have a dream today.

I  have a dream that one day at  the  confines of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Cojuangco and Garcia  and   their  close ally-turned- bitter  enemy Go Teng  Kok will be able to sit down again at the table of brotherhood.

I  have a dream today.

I  have a dream that  even warring  sports leaders, who can’t seem to agree on anything under the sun,  like Manny V. Pangilinan and Graham Lim  in basketball, Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Philip Juico in cycling, and Mark Joseph and Susan  Papa in   swimming, finally find a  common   ground and  hold hands like little boys and  little sisters.

I  have  a  dream that  all my four  children  will  someday  watch sports and  their   favorite  athletes without asking me  if sportsmanship still exists.  Even if they see players fighting each other and coaches arguing  with  each other, officials cheating and  athletes beating up their women, it does  not mean sportsmanship is no longer  there.  Even  if  they can’t see   sportsmanship does  not  mean it isn’t there.

I  have a dream today.

I  have a dream that even during  the country’s darkest days in sports, there will be light at the end of  the  tunnel  that the country’s search for  the elusive first Olympic gold medal is  still within  reach.

I   have  a  dream   that  no  matter how small, the country’s delegation to the  Olympic Games in London later  this  year will make Filipinos  all over  the world proud.

I  have a  dream that one day there will  be  more Manny Pacquiao in boxing, more Efren “Bata” Reyes in billlards, more Paeng  Nepomuceno  in   bowling, more  Eugene Torre in  chess, more Lydia de Vega in  athletics, more   Eric  Buhain  in   swimming, more Felix   Barrientos in  tennis and  more  Nathaniel “Tac”  Padilla in shooting.

I also have a dream  that Nonito Donaire Jr. can really be as good as Pacquiao in boxing, Dennis  Orcollo is now  a  lot better than Reyes in billiards,  and Wesley So is  now  twice  as good as Torre in chess

I  have a dream that basketball, the country’s national pastime, will regain its once lofty billing in  Asia, if  not the world. This is  our great  Filipino  dream. This  is  also  now   MVP’s greatest passion  as  the   godfather of  local basketball.  This is also  Graham Lim’s  fondest   wish  even  if others refuse  to  admit  his Filipino roots. We  all  hope our players grow  bigger, become wiser, get more  talented  and play a lot better.

I  have a dream that one day in the PBA and  other  major sports leagues  in  the  country,  the players will  simply play the  game and  the  coaches simply coach  the   game  without resorting  to   thrash-talking and dirty tactics and  even  dirtier  actions  in order to win the game.

I  have a dream that one day crowd   favorite   Barangay Ginebra will  win a PBA  title  again  so that fans  will  again come  back in droves and  make Asia’s   first play-for-pay league  as No. 1 sports entertainment  again.

I have a dream that  San   Miguel   Beer  (now Petron Blaze) and Alaska Milk will  become champions  many  times over again.

I have a dream, too,  that Ateneo and La Salle  will continue their life-long rivalry in UAAP  and San Beda, Letran and  San Sebastian  College  keep the  flames  alive in the NCAA.

If  all  these  dreams  come  true, am sure  all will be well in Philippine sports again.

We  can  dream, can’t  we?

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NOTES -- Birthday greeting  to  chess  champion  Chardee  Camacho, who  turned  another  year older on  Jan. 17, and  chess  official  Manuel   Rellorcasa, who celbrate on  Jan. 18.. 

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