“I’ll Fight For the Filipino People” Is No “Eye of the Tiger,” But…

OK, it’s no “Eye of the Tiger,” and not as catchy as “Roar,” but the messaging contained in the new video for Manny Pacquiao’s theme song for his May 2 Cash for all the Clash, against Floyd Mayweather, helps to clarify the narrative for the clash against “Money.”

Indeed, there is no mention or hint of money in the video, which contains scenes of Pacman getting hit and cut, and then, as his career progresses, getting the better of foes. Insterspersed throughout are images of regular Joes and Janes in the Phillipines, including scenes laying out the devastation from the typhoon which sent the nation to the mat in November 2013.

OK, “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Filipino,” which translates to “I’ll Fight for the Filipino People” didn’t get too stuck in my head, and Manny is a better boxer than warbler. But that doesn’t mean the song blows…

Message: I fight for you, I have been you, I am you.

You can dismiss such a message as a manipulative or facile or what have you…and a portion of you maybe be right. But I’d advise you to look hard at which portion of you is seeing this song and Manny’s message purely through a lens of dismissiveness and cynicism. Maybe some of the folks who turn up their noses to look down at the Manny message haven’t lived in circumstances in which food was the opposite of plentiful, a path upwards was not clear and prayer didn’t work.

Yeah, a prizefighter and a prize fight can provide a powerful surge in mood and mindset to a person whose personal won-loss record is far south of the line.

I do think Pacman, this 2015 version, does follow the Bible as blueprint, and while he doesn’t advertise it all that often, does see Mayweathers’ hubris and idolization of money as being mildly repugnant, and not a proper POV for the masses.

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