I'm not a massive Manny Pacquiao fan, in fact I think his refusal to take a blood test and fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was selfish, granted it was certainly as big a part of Mayweather's mental game as it was to ensure no doping had taken place. I posted this article because it tells the story of a great athlete who has helped to revive sport that many saw as far past it's prime, a dinosaur unable to adapt to a new generation of fan's desires. Pacquiao is not just famous in the Philippines, he is an icon across Southeast Asia, a true point of pride for the entire region.
From a writing standpoint it is articles like these that reaffirm my personal belief as to why GQ Magazine continues to be a standard bearer in print journalism. Seven well crafted pages from a writer covering sports. Not some quickly thrown together cliche riddled blurb by another unoriginal sportswriter. Great sports pieces come from true writers covering sports, not sportswriters. If the distinction isn't clear read David Foster Wallace's Roger Federer as a Religious Experience or Hunter S. Thompson 's The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Deprived in comparison to the regurgitated mindless ramblings turned out weekly by Rick Reilly or Bill Simmons.
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