CHICKENPIEThe monobloc chair has become a coaching box. Tito has put down his pandesal, leaned toward the television and diagnosed a forehand. He has never held a tennis racket. This has not affected his availability for the role.
Alex Eala has made TIME100 Next, according to The Philippine Star’s October 2 report. Rafael Nadal wrote her tribute. A fairly useful reference to have. Somewhere in our imaginary living room, a man whose warm-up consists of looking for the remote is preparing a second opinion.
Welcome to the National Academy of Watching Other People Work. Tuition is free. Confidence is unlimited. Graduation happens the moment you say, “Dapat kasi,” at a screen that cannot hear you. The faculty includes the cousin who learned the scoring system this morning and is already unhappy with the tactics.
This is a cartoon of the audience. Eala has a racket and a career. We have a group chat. The trouble begins when we mistake those for equivalent sporting equipment. A cheering section is wonderful company. A cheering section issuing performance reviews could use a short walk.
For today’s drawing, imagine a modest sala rearranged into a grandstand: monobloc seats in solemn rows, a television perched on a cabinet, a biscuit tin promoted to the refreshments desk. Beside it, Mr. Chicken watches with the grave expression of someone who has just discovered that love means zero. Nobody has moved a muscle. Everyone has notes.
The real tribute offers a better vocabulary. The Star reports that Nadal praised Eala’s willingness to listen, learn and improve. Those are patient verbs. They do not come with confetti. They also sound considerably harder than typing a flag emoji and announcing that you knew all along.
I like the cheering. Keep the cheering. Let the sala get loud enough for the neighbour to check the score. But leave some room between being proud of an athlete and making her responsible for your mood. A magazine list recognises a person; it does not appoint her manager of everybody’s expectations.
Here is a manageable training programme for the rest of us: applaud the work, learn one rule, resist turning the next difficult match into a character assessment. Repeat without demanding a trophy for your support. Hydrate if the group chat gets heated.
Eala earned the recognition. Our imaginary coaching staff can earn something too: the ability to sit in a chair without promoting itself. The remote is not a credential.
Source: The Philippine Star, October 2, 2026.
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