Halftime Fun time

"Blue Eagle the KING!!!"

I got a text message from Ateneo head of Alumni Affairs Jun Dalandan if I can be part of the Blue Babble Alumni who can perform during the halftime of the Ateneo vs. San Beda game for the opening of the Filoil pre season tournament. Initially I declined and told Jun that my knees are swollen and that I would find it hard to bend and run around the court. Also, I wanted to enjoy and savor the moment of watching the epic battle of the two champion teams.

Its your chance to Cheer

After a few minutes I saw the email forwarded through our ASSOC Yahoo groups by Ida Avila-Solis, who is the sister of an ASSOC Alumni who is similarly asking for Blue Babble Alumni to join the fun. It was at that point that I received another text message from Jun to reconsider. I then said, for the love of the Ateneo, swollen knees and all, lets get it on. Former Blue Babble head Joey Guillermo who is the older brother of a batch mate and Fil-Oil flying V league chairman then called me up to make sure I will be there.

A different way to end the Three fights

I arrived at the Arena in San Juan a little over 12 noon and met up with Jeff Tagle who is from a recent Blue Babble batch from the previous decade and Richard Agbayani who is a batch mate of Joey. Two other former babble Alumni would join us to the cheers of Fabilioh, Three FIghts and Blue Eagle spelling. I must admit I was quite hesitant to do the halftime gig but when I entered the Arena and saw that most of the Ateneo gallery are people I know then I was already eager to start.

"Fight Fight Blue & White Go Go Ateneo Sis Boom Bah"

When halftime came we told the San Beda Cheerleaders and Cheerdancers to go ahead with their cheers. Some Alumni of the Ateneo band were also there to lend a hand as they borrowed the drums of the De La Salle Band. When I heard the Go Ateneo cheer I got pumped up and my knees began to to hold as I walked to the center court. We then cheered our hearts out and the movements were quite reserved but funny since we could not bend anymore. It was cheering Alumni style. The best thing there was the thunderous response we got from the Ateneo community.

Point your fingers!!!

This just shows that whenever there is an Ateneo crowd, leading them to cheers will never be a problem. Now I can't wait to go back on the floor and hog the limelight once again since they were telling me that the Ateneo vs. DLSU game on June 4 will be another Halftime Alumni Affair. Well, thats a month and a half from now and I just hope that the Ateneo will continue its winning ways.

Thanks to Ken Ti for capturing this great moment