December 5, 2020. I went for a whole day of writing one of the most important milestones of the Philippines national football team, we football fans call it the Miracle of Hanoi. Started to write after taking my lunch around 12:30 pm, and started to search for all available sources from images, videos, and articles written from our local media (both from the press and freelance writers). Including photos of me and the rest of my brothers of the Ultras Filipinas.
As I was looking back from my old photos, I was very thin at that time, until the moment I got my first job, gained weight, and now I'm averagely fit and in good condition. It brings me back from the moment I became a pioneer of the Ultras movement, the glory days from 2012 to 2015 until things were becoming not so good at that time, but we decided to fight against the system since our football federation is killing the terraces back then. Now, they realized the importance of supporting our country. In case you missed one of my previous articles about this movement, click or tap here to read more.
Now, I'm going to tell you a short story about how Ultras Filipinas was formed. Founded in 2011 by a few members of the Kaholeros (the official booster squad of the Azkals). That was during the qualification round for the FIFA World Cup 2014 at Panaad Stadium, Bacolod. These individuals left the group and formed their own with the influence of the Ultras movement, and the club they're supporting during the United Football League was Philippine Air Force FC. Yes, our armed forces also participated in our local league division (Army, Navy, and Air Force were known as the Big Three of Filipino Football). Their heroes, Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta, and Yanti Barsales were part of the Azkals. I've seen these men in action as they made noise during the friendly match of CF International de Madrid and PAF FC 8 years ago. They also want to change the support culture here and hoping will meet them sooner.
Our paths crossed again along with my brothers from Ultras Kaya, when the Azkals were in Nepal participating in the AFC Challenge Cup 2012, while we watched the matches at a pub named Hellas Taverna near Robinsons Manila. We had the same passion, interests, and vision to change the support culture. Primarily focused on Football, we want to show our support for other sports. Over the years, the influence of the group was spread like a lit stick match, it is burning slowly as we have other members from the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Sur, Nueva Ecjia, Bulacan, Cavite, Cebu, and Davao.
Ultras were known for being violent, rowdy, and we were almost getting pissed off to every bodyguard, every security detail around the arena since these muscular men or security guards would never understand our passion. Another side of it, is we want to show our love for the country so everyone around will have a sense of national pride & patriotism.
That is my short story about the group, but I will create a separate article about it. Moving back to my day. After numerous breaks and dinner. I finished the article and separated into 4 parts:
Then published the 1st three around 7:30 pm, while the last one I published on the next day. And that's how my day went for today. Stay tuned for my article about the Ultras movement in the Philippines.
