Face off: Fil-Ams, Tagalog, and that cute American author

From: Jaemark Tordecilla To: Rafe Bartholomew Subject: On the “cute American author with fluent Tagalog" Funnily enough, just as we were talking about fangirls, you’ve turned into quite the YouTube sensation; Spot.PH even describes you as the “cute American author with fluent Tagalog." You now have your own gaggle of screaming, if virtual, fangirls. I hope you don’t forget your sports roots next year when you’re at the Cosmo Bachelor Bash, walking down the ramp half-naked while singing a Tagalog Eraserheads medley. Speaking of which, one thing that’s always bugged me about Fil-Ams who end up in the PBA is how so few of them even bother learning Tagalog. I’m no xenophobe when it comes to the Fil-Am invasion, in any way, but I could use more Tagalog rather than hiphop slang from these guys. I’m always blown away when players like Mark Caguioa or Ryan Reyes handle their courtside interviews in the native tongue, and I’m sure fans feel more of a connection to them too. Why aren’t more Fil-Am players making the effort? As for Filipino kids making it to the NBA, I think talent, and even height, aren’t the only considerations. For example, take Ravena, who from all accounts seems to be a singular talent. But at 16, his whole career is already laid out in front of him: play for Ateneo after high school, suit up for a couple of national teams, get drafted by the PBA, become a star. Sure, the NBA might be a long shot, but it doesn’t help that he’s not exploring any other options that could help his chances of making it there. He probably wouldn’t be trying to get into, say, a good NCAA Division I program, where he’d be exposed to better coaching, bigger and better competition, and more advanced training and nutrition. Then again, even if he only lives up to half his potential, he’d still be a star and he wouldn’t be wanting in life. It kind of reminds me of Willie Miller. In your book, you said that he’d probably be good enough to be a star at a mid-major NCAA program. An American who used to coach in the PBA even did you one better, saying that if Miller had grown up in the US, he’d probably be recruited by a major program like Duke (and he’d probably have driven Coach K crazy with his exhibitionist streak). While we’re talking about Willie Thriller, what do you think about his transfer to Ginebra, where he was reunited with his old Alaska backcourt mate, Mike Cortez? And what do you think about all these changes in Alaska? With Jeff Cariaso’s impending retirement, only Sonny Thoss, Reynel Hugnatan, and if you want to count him, Tony dela Cruz, will be there from when you covered the team. Are you still an Alaska fan? Please click on Rafe's bobblehead to read his reply.

From: Rafe Bartholomew To: Jaemark Tordecilla Subject: The Fil-Am and the native tongue God bless Spot.PH. I think the only unequivocally accurate part of that description is that I'm American. I probably shouldn’t be that surprised about the fangirl thing, but I am. I don’t mean to say that I’m just so damn handsome that I should expect this kind of attention; I mean that I, of all people, should have understood the how the shifting spotlight of Philippine basketball works. I wrote about the open borders between showbiz, basketball and politics; I read about the historical examples like Jaworski and Freddie Webb; I watched it play out with current ballers-turned-actors like Benjie Paras. But I never thought I could do anything to earn a smidgen of that pop culture notoriety. Of course, compared to those titans, that’s all I am -- a smidgen. But I don’t think there’s any way to prepare for people suddenly caring who you are, when the day before they'd never heard of you. It’s a strange, and of course an extremely flattering experience and I also hope that when all is said and done I remain grounded as a writer and a sports lover and observer, just one whose voice happens to sing the Jollibee Langhap Sarap song on the crackly speakers of the MRT. The Fil-Am versus local identity issue is a total hornet’s nest, one that the league hasn’t really resolved but has tamped down by booting out the most egregious Fil-shams of the previous decade. Just figuring out who is a Fil-Am and who is a local gives me migraines. Mark Caguioa grew up in Mandaluyong and goes on the books as a local, even though he’s perceived as a Fil-Am. Mac Cardona is also from Mandaluyong, also moved to LA (although at a slightly later age than Caguioa) before returning to Manila, but he’s seen as one of the most homegrown players around. Some Pinoys who don’t follow the PBA assume that Willie Miller is a Fil-Am. Everyone seems to have their own definition of Fil-Am and local, and no one seems to define them in the terms laid out by the PBA. I'm telling you, we need to get some PhD's up in here to sort all these identity issues out for us. As for the language question, I think Fil-Am players’ lack of Tagalog is a little overstated. Mike Cortez, who carries himself with an almost prototypical Fil-Am swagger, speaks and understands Tagalog better than I do. But courtside reporters ask him questions in English so he responds in English. Now, that’s not to say that all the league’s Fil-Ams are undercover Tagalog linguists. They’re not, and I think people have a right to wish that these players made a more noticeable effort to connect with fans in the national language. I also think that PBA fans could cut these guys some slack. Learning a second language is hard -- especially for people raised in the States. Filipino-Americans are very aware of how people criticize their Tagalog, and that can make it harder for them to try speaking and make the mistakes that allow people to learn languages. As an out-and-out foreigner, I benefited from a double-standard. I could say something totally baluktot, and people around me would cheer “Galing!" And that would only encourage me to keep trying until I figured it out. When Fil-Ams make the same mistakes, they often don’t hear the same encouragement. They hear "Ba't hindi ka marunong managalog? Pilipino ka ba?" And that’s a reason why I feel a little uncomfortable with online commenters saying my Tagalog should be a lesson to Fil-Ams. I didn’t learn the language to shame anyone else. I learned it and continue to study it because I love the country and Philippine culture. I much prefer reading comments about how people want to marry me.