New York Hauls c/o Wrestlefreaks' Leeyowc



With no contacts to buy in the US anymore, I had to be a little resourceful in finding generous people to bring in some goodies for me. After all, I really had to catch up with newly released Cyclops/Bret Hart figures which are only available in the US. Thankfully New York-based "Leeyowc", whom I only knew in Wrestlefreaks (a local wrestling figures forum), obliged to bring in some hauls for me. Two fellow Wrestlefreaks members tagged in the shipping costs, and it was amazing how we brought down the cost to a minimum through Johnny Air quick shipping service! Of course, I had to sacrifice my CS Bret figures by asking Leeyow to set them loose so as to save shipping space. Took about a week since Leeyow sent the figures from New York until I met his brother in nearby Cainta on one Tuesday night.

Muchas gracias, Leeyow. Great guy! Thank you very much for accommodating the figures, packing and sending them over to Manila.

WWE Deluxe Classic Superstars Series 7 Wrestlemania VII Hart Foundation Bret Hart


(July 28, 2009) Jakks seem to run out of ideas to release and they just settled for a lowly Deluxe Aggression Bret Hitman Hart in his WM7 outfit to compliment the earlier CSDA5 released Jim "Anvil" Neidhart. Prior to the CSDA release, Jakks already released a "Profigures" Internet Exclusive Classic Superstars (CS) Wrestlemania 7 Hart Foundation (in RA scale), so this figure is a bit redundant in my collection. Still, any Bret Hart figure by Jakks is welcome to my Bret Hart collection. Unfortunately, Hitman didn't come with any championship belts, nor jackets, nor his trademark shades.


WWE Best of Classic Superstars 2008 Wrestlemania VIII Bret Hart


Another redundant release by Jakks, this Best of Classic Superstars 2008 is just a rerelease of CS3 Bret Hart although with differences: the size of the flames, the head scan (CS3 is a bearded Bret Hart), and the positioning of Hitman's chest logo. This Best of CS 2008 Bret too is similar to the CSTT Bret Hart-Yokozuna 2-Pack, except for the "Best of CS" logo in Bret Hart's leg.

Both CS3 and Best of CS 2008 are supposed to commemorate Bret Hart's Wrestlemania 8 Intercontinental Championship vs. Roddy Piper, but the set of tights are similar to what Bret Hart used in his Championship match vs. Yokozuna at Caesar's Palace in Wrestlemania 9. I took off the hearts in Bret's legs and replaced them with white hearts, and I asked Virgil to paint the trims of the singlet from black to white. Viola! Instant Wrestlemania 9 Bret Hart custom!


X-Men Origins: Wolverine Series 3 Cyclops (Comic Series)


Toys are surely getting smaller, just when we thought this was the age of the awesome-life-like action figures. But then the 3.75" scale is Hasbro's domain, so any Cyclops action figure released by them in whatever scale is still welcome for my collection. Hey, at least I have to thank them after they managed to squeeze in one Cyclops in the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" brand with a couple of Wolverine figures.

The reviews are right: without Cyclops' eyebeams, the slit in the visor is a little big, the anatomical proportions aren't nice (Cyclops has a short wingspan) and very limited articulation. But then I'm not a completist collector for anything.

Bought this figure at eBay, I really had a dilemma of buying it or not. Finally I gave in and hit the "Buy Now" button. A few days later, Playkit released this to the market locally. I actually spent 100php more for my impatience fee (bought this at $13), which backfired. I couldn't believe it though how rare this figure seems to be locally as I couldn't find any Cyclops nor Iceman in the toy pegs lately.


Super Hero Squad Wave 11 Cyclops


This seems to be one of the holy grails in the Super Hero Squad collecting community, as this is quite rare due to distribution problems by Hasbro. This SHS Cyclops, packed together with daughter Rachel Grey, is part of Wave 11 but not much Wave 11 was distributed both in the US and the Philippines (we had Wave 12 ahead of Wave 11). Luckily I found someone selling it in eBay, although loose and no packaging, and he accepted my best offer (Pinoy talaga, hehe). I have most Cyclops SHS figures with customs included, but I didn't have any skull-cap Cyclops with me. Just a perfect fit for my SHS Cyclops collection.


Local Hauls
Amazing how I can still manage to get my share of local hauls despite the popularity of Wolverine, GI Joe, and Transformers in the local market. The following are hauls that I scored locally:

Deluxe Build 'n Brawl Series 7 Bret Hart


(July 1, 2009) This is a proof that the toy collecting community is indeed a, well, community! I was already contemplating on getting this online via eBay until I got a heads-up from PTKer "travelingboy" about a local sighting of Build 'n Brawl Series 7 Bret Hart at BEST Toys in Green Hills. Immediately the next day I went to GH to buy this mini-Bret. Good thing it had no strings attached and I was able to get it at SRP.

Took more than a year for this to be released. Prototypes were already shown as early as February 2008, yet the figure was released only in June 2009. Surprisingly, we got our stock locally at the same time the US had theirs. Even more surprising is BnB7's presence in the local toy shops a few days after my purchase at GH. The figure is quite expensive for its size just like Hasbro's, but I'll take it anyway. The figure lacks shades and knee pads, and I got mine a little cross-eyed. Bret is wearing the tights/singlet he used during 1994.


"Classic" Rotocast Cyclops custom by bino


(August 8, 2009) When Bino first showed this custom Cyclops out of a Daredevil rotocast figure and said he was selling it, I was thrilled but I couldn't buy it at first as my money went to upgrading my PC. Fellow Cyclops collector "monvdd" originally had first dibs on this custom but when Bino finally named the price (which I believe is a decent one), I placed my dibs as well and thankfully monvdd gave way (thanks a lot buddy!) as he had a lot of financial damage as well. I was financially damaged as well but I couldn't resist the figure (argh, temptation).

Bino's original visor rendition had a black outline with two red lines, plus a black outlines below the visor slit. I was a bit uncomfortable with it, and thankfully Bino adjusted the visor according to my specs. Finally when we met in the Metro Comic Con in SM Megamall, I got so excited about seeing the figure. Awesome! Couldn't believe it myself that I almost passed up on this figure. Just as what I've been telling about my collection, I'm proud to own awesome custom figures made by fellow Pinoys, this included. Thanks bino for this one.

X-Men Classic Chapter Cyclops Fine Art Bust 285/1500 (by Kotobukiya)


(August 27, 2009) Talk about a long wait, this awesome Japanese Cyclops bust, which was shown in SDCC 2008, took a while before it can finally be released. The release schedule kept on moving! I couldn't anticipate my money allotment for this figure. From October to December 2008 to February 2009 to April to July and finally in the last week of August! The base was adjusted as well from a diamond-looking base to a pillar-looking base. But it was sure worth the wait even if this bust came with quite a price tag. The bust stands tall at 8 inches, taller than my Bowen and DST busts. The box is quite big as well, anyone would mistake this to be a statuette.

Thank you Comic Odyssey Galleria for reserving my piece. Those weekly follow-ups and visits paid off! This collectible is my fifth biggest this year after the Cyclops Civil War bust (from gnihb), Medicom RAH Cyclops, the HobbyMaster2k3 Cyclops 1/4 statue, and the Bowen Cyclops bust. Yey!

Coming soon: I already lost hope for the Cyclops Corinthian figures which I think will never come after almost 4 months since ordering them from UK. Upcoming hauls should include CS26 Wrestlemania 4 Bret Hart, a few planned Bret Hart customs with Virgil (King of the Ring 93? Wrestlemania 10? hmm), and Cyclops collectibles which include X-Men First Appearance and X-Factor Minimates Cyclops, and the Secret Wars # 4 Cyclops/Hulk 2 Pack.

Every customizer I guess is trying to find his niche in the action figure customizing world. There are too many brands and scales all over and one customizer has to specialize in order to reach a certain market/customers/collectors. Since I became a fan of customized action figures back in 2007, I've taken notice of notable customizers in the local toy forums, especially those who have awesome talent. I remember PTKer "toyboy" (or Nico) having a hand in NBA McFarlane figure repaints until he tried customizing Marvel Legends figures and icons. When Hasbro came up with its awesome vinyl Mighty Muggs figures, Nico's true talent came out like it's something waiting to happen.

Nico's early works caught my eye, like his version of Hitman (movie), Ultimate Thing, King Leoidas (300), and Hellboy -- which he did for his rising Mighty Muggs collection. But when he accepted a commission for a Masked Rider (Kamen) Black mighty mugg custom for one of the Masked Rider Black completist collectors in PTK ("markcarandang"), I inquired his services too. I believe every completist collector should own a piece of his talent. Took about a month before I can finally have my very own Likhang Pinoy Custom Mighty Mugg which I got all the way in Robinson's Place Ermita! I've met Nico for a couple of times now, I have to say he's one of the awesome guys around in the toy forums.

Today, I consider myself lucky to have own two Mighty Mugg customs. Nico's talents caught the eye of international customers as well, and local customers who were amused with his works exhibited in the 8th Philippine Toy Con last June. Nico's doing a full blast of custom commissions from all over (LPC is now a team, last time he told me). His works now include comic characters like the Age of Apocalypse Cyclops (for fellow Cyclops collector monvdd), movie based Hugh Jackman Wolverine, and heck, sports personalities like Manny Pacquiao and Kobe Bryant! What started as a hobby and a way to show his talent turned out to be a great source of revenue for him :P

I have two more pending commissions from him, and we're doing a "Modern Era" (Jim Lee) Cyclops, and hopefully an Age of Apocalypse Cyclops (different version from monvdd since Nico wants to make his works as unique as possible). He even kidded me of doing every version of Cyclops! I don't mind if only I had enough cash and space in my shelves, haha! Heck, I can just buy overrun Muggs and line it up in his queue until the time he can do them, haha!

I said it over and over and I'll say it again: What makes my collection unique is my custom commissions done by talented Filipinos. I'm proud to own two LPC done by Nico's Likhang Pinoy Customs. Awesome guy, awesome talent. Thanks Nico!

Below are two Mighty Mugg customs he did for me. Write-up of the figures are from my post in my collection thread over at PinoyToyKolektors.

Bret "Hitman" Hart LPC Mighty Muggs







(July 2, 2009) The first time Nico showed me the Bret Hart mock up a week before the 2009 Toycon, I knew it will turn out special. Man, what an experience of seeing it in person in Nico's Mighty Muggs exhibit in the 2009 Toycon as Nico was able to capture Bret Hart's likeness in Muggs form. Though this custom took two to three months in the making, it was surely worth the wait. When I saw it displayed among Nico's works, I was as proud as him as the owner of the Bret Hart Muggs.

This version of Bret Hart is using the tights he wore in WCW, similar to what Virgil did in RA form. I provided all the logo and the pics, and I had it customized such that Bret Hart is wearing his WWF sunglasses (as opposed to the rounded shades he wore in WCW). At first Nico wanted to draw the logos free handed, but I told him I'm more comfortable using decals. The result turned out great, exactly how I envisioned the figure to be.


Astonishing X-Men Cyclops LPC Mighty Muggs v.2




(July 24, 2009) As an owner of a LPC customs, I lent the earlier Astonishing X-Men (AXM) Cyclops custom which Nico made for me last February. However, I was a little uncomfortable with how the shading turned out before. Cyclops' costume is naturally dark, which prevented the contours of Cyclops' body to stand out.

I asked nicely if Nico can redo my AXM Cyclops mugg to make the contours stand out, and good thing Nico agreed to redo it free of charge. When I met him in his office at Makati on one Friday night of July, I was so thrilled to have my AXM Cyclops back with a big improvement! It's like getting a new toy for my collection! Says Nico, he had a hard time applying Citadel paint as the figure was already sprayed with coating. Good thing he was still able to pull it off. My AXM Cyclops is back in the shelf together with my Death of Phoenix statue and my DST Cyclops replica visor.

Thanks a lot buddy, and looking forward to my two other projects with you soon!

When I started collecting Bret Hart figures exactly two years ago, I've always wondered how I can commission some custom figures in which Bret is wearing significant tights in his career. I always thought that his "flamed" tights was a little hard to execute especially I'm too keen on details. To me some of them are my dream figures, which too bad Jakks will not pull off anymore after the license switch to Mattel by the end of the year. Meanwhile, I've always wondered how guys like skribbel24 and PTK NBA McFarlane repaint guru "nero_rules" can execute awesome repaints using decals. I always thought that my dream customs are doable, it's just a matter of finding the right guy to execute them. As early as last year, I bought 3 MOC CS 13 Bret Hart figures from eBay (where they come cheaper) and loose CS13 Bret figures along the way -- waiting for the time someone repaints them.

Virgil insisted that he try doing the more complicated Bret Hart singlets. I admit I was hesitant at first, but as he made the first flamed singlet custom (WM 12 Bret), the floodgates of ideas suddenly opened and we were in full blast. There were mistakes and experiments which happened but they all contributed to the improvement of Virgil's repainting talent. In the customs which follow, I printed and attached the decals. Gotta thank the man profusely for doing my dream customs. Thanks Virg, more beers! (Thanks too toyboy/Nico for giving us tips on Citadel paint and decals)

Wrestlemania XII Bret "Hitman" Hart




(July 3, 2009) The first of Virgil's Bret Hart repaints, I drew the mock-up of the flames on the legs and buttocks on paper before Virgil executed them on the figure. I chose this tights design as a start since the base figure (CS13) is colored with black already and the flames are a little simpler than the other customs that I have in mind. Amazingly, we pulled the custom in a week, from June 24-July 3! For WIPs and stories, check out my blog entry in here.

This custom commemorates the Wrestlemania XII main event, in which proud champion Bret Hart faced off Shawn Michaels who had a boyhood dream of becoming a champion too. The two icons fought it out in an "Iron Man" match wherein the two wrestlers tried to gain the most number of pins or submissions within one hour. For a grueling 60 minutes, nobody was able to score a pin and Bret Hart walked away as champion but was recalled to a "sudden death" match. The "Showstopper" hit Bret Hart with two sweet-chin-music kicks and was able to score the pin as Shawn Michaels earned his first ever WWF world championship. The two wrestlers showcased an excellent match, but Shawn gave a disrespectful remark to Bret after the match which started their real-life locker-room rivalry (and was culminated in the "Montreal Screwjob" of 1997).


Owen Hart Tribute Fight/Mayhem '99/WCW Bret "Hitman" Hart




(July 14, 2009) Shortly after pulling off the WM12 Bret custom, Virgil and I were back on the drawing board with one of my dream customs: Bret Hart in his WCW tights. I drew the mock-up of the flames which Virg applied on the figure. With the right decals and flame details, this is one of the most awesome custom figures in my collection. Unfortunately after finishing the entire figure, we realized that we mixed the wrong pink which turned this custom to having more red than white. We'll fix it soon even if it means of reapplying the decals (yeah, I'm that perfectionist).

Bret Hart wore this set of tights in the majority of his WCW career. While he wasn't used properly in the other professional wrestling league, he had a few bright spots in there, starting with the tribute match for Owen Hart vs. Chris Benoit at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, October 1999. It was the exact venue where Owen accidentally fell in WWF's PPV in May 1999. The two put an awesome purely technical mat-wrestling which wrestling should be. When the smoke cleared, the two technical wrestlers made a masterpiece match which Owen would probably be proud of. Bret Hart also used this set of tights in WCW Mayhem 99 at Toronto in November, in which he won his first WCW Championship after going through Sting in the semifinals and Chris Benoit in the finals. Unfortunately, this set of tights marked the end of Bret's wrestling career wherein Goldberg gave him "the kick" in Starcade 99 (December), caused Hitman a post-concussion syndrome (which led to a stroke some years later) and forced him into retirement.


Survivor Series 1996 Bret "Hitman" Hart




(August 8, 2009) Unlike the first two customs which were done in a short time, this Survivor Series 1996 custom took some time before we could finish this due to the work that Virg and I had (we have an office-life too!) This is one of my dream customs too, due to Bret's unique tights with a taste of yellow-orange trims. While we couldn't capture the yellow-orange color, Virg was able to pull off with the awesome flames. Adding the decals was the icing in this great custom.

This custom is a tribute to Bret Hart's return to pro-wrestling after an eight-month sabbatical. Up and coming WWE star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin called out to Hitman ("If you add an 'S' in front of 'Hitman', you've got exactly my opinion about Bret Hart") until Bret Hart finally accepted Stone Cold's challenge in his return-match in Survivor Series 1996 at Madison Square Garden. The two put a good match which started their pro-wrestling rivalry (one of the best in all time) and lasted about 6 to 8 months to come. Hitman and Stone Cold had a double turn in Wrestlemania 13's "I Quit" Match and led to Hitman reforming the New Hart Foundation to put a stop to Stone Cold's antics.


Wrestlemania 2 Bret Hart



(August 11, 2009) I originally had this custom last year wherein Virg and I spray-painted Bret's tights with French Blue. Unfortunately during the JackTV Animation Festival in which I displayed my Bret Hart collection, this custom got a little damaged with the bubble wrap marking itself on the figure's seemingly-soft paint. With three Bret Hart customs done, we finally had time to get back to this damaged custom and repaint it anew with Citadel paint instead of Tamiya spray paint. The hardest part of this custom was removing the thick spray paint we applied before which stuck like glue in the joints. Finally when Virg was able to remove all of them, it took only a short time before we can reapply the paint and the black lining on the side of the custom (through paper and glue). Quick fix-up which looked like a brand new addition to my Bret Hart collection!

There's nothing much to say about this custom, except it was the set of tights Bret wore in the Wrestlemania 2 Battle Royale. After all the guest football players and other wrestlers were eliminated, only the Hart Foundation and Andre the Giant were left in the ring. Jim was tossed out, and Andre lifted Bret Hart from the ring to "Anvil's" waiting arms. Yeah, what a way to commemorate Bret's elimination. haha.


SummerSlam 1992/ First Championship Run Bret "Hitman" Hart




(August 28, 2009) In one random night, I was watching Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog's wrestling match in SummerSlam 1992, which is regarded as the best SummerSlam match of all time. I light bulb appeared and I asked Virg if he can do one for me. The Unmatched Fury Series 9 already commemorates the match, but it wouldn't hurt to have one in RA scale. Besides, Bret Hart used the same singlet when he won his first WWF Championship in Saskatoon against Ric Flair in an untelevised wrestling match. I ran out of spare Bret Hart fodders to use, and with Jakks' recent release of CS 26 Bret Hart (wherein Bret is wearing his WM4 singlet/tights), I sacrificed my custom Wrestlemania 4 Bret Hart that Virg made me earlier this year. This custom took us more than two weeks but luckily we pulled off all decals only in a day.

This custom is a tribute to Bret Hart's SummerSlam 1992 match against British Bulldog in Davey Boy Smith's hometown in Wembley Stadium in England. The angle called for a "family feud" scenario wherein real-life brothers-in-law tore the entire Hart family with Hart and Bulldog's rivalry. Bret tells in his documentary that this was one of the memorable matches he had, mostly carrying the match on last (main event) in front of 80,000 fans, as Bulldog is too drugged up to remember all the spots they've talked about. Bret says the match was a make-or-break for him, given the trust by Vince McMahon amidst the large audience. Bulldog won the IC title and the ending was a feel good match as Bret and Smith congratulated each other. This must be the reason why in a matter of months, Vince decided to put the World Championship on Bret Hart in October at Saskatoon against then-champion Ric Flair. Bret's victory caught everyone by surprise since the match wasn't televised. Bret wore the exact set of tights in that match with the one he used in SummerSlam.

It's regarded as one of the most storied rivalry in professional wrestling history, and a legendary and defining match in Wrestlemania history too. In Wrestlemania XII, proud warrior WWF world champion Bret Hart faced Shawn Michaels who has this "boyhood" dream of becoming a WWF world champion himself. The "Iron Man" match as it's called, the two wrestlers tried to gain the most number of pins or submissions within one hour. For a grueling 60 minutes, nobody was able to score a pin and Bret Hart walked away as champion but was recalled to a "sudden death" match. The "Showstopper" hit Bret Hart with two sweet-chin-music kicks and was able to score the pin as Shawn Michaels earned his first ever WWF world championship.




Of course, there are lots of stories behind the match. Bret Hart's cardio health was failing him that the two had to orchestrate a match without compromising Bret's lack of extended endurance. Meanwhile Shawn Michaels had all the time in the world to train for the Iron Man match while Bret Hart was seemingly clinging to his belt while consistently wrestling bigger guys than him in Yokozuna, Undertaker, and Diesel. The two had an excellent match, but Shawn Michaels gave a sickening remark to the defeated Bret Hart to "get the f*ck out of the ring" after he was given the championship. This started the lockeroom real-life rivalry between Bret and Shawn which would culminate in Survivor Series 1997 (the Montreal Screwjob).

Bret Hart himself liked the match even if he went up against his real-life rival at that time. If not for the lengthy match, he would have included the Iron Man Match in his wrestling anthology/documentary released three years ago. He said it himself that he appreciated how hard he worked for this match in keeping up with the "little bastard."

With Jakks Pacific releasing the last of Bret Hart figure in Classic Superstars 26 (which turned out to be a Wrestlemania IV "Battle Royale" Bret Hart), I thought it was time to commission Virgil to do a Wrestlemania XII Bret Hart figure. I actually have three spare CS 13 Bret Hart MOC figures, and I thought of having WM 12 Bret done due to simplicity of paint (no need to paint the leg tights with pink).

I felt this custom would be a make or break one for Virgil. The easiest Bret Hart customs were Bret in his Hart Foundation outfit, and the tights Bret used in his championship years had too much details on his flames. Virgil was confident enough to the tights' flames, so we proceeded with the project.

This custom was a real learning experience for both of us -- from Virgil's painting skills, to experimenting with decals and a new paint brand for us (Citadel). This one took two minds (Virgil's artistry and my direction) to execute such an excellent customized figure.

Sunday (June 14)




I did the flames mock-up two weeks before this project was executed. Watched the video of the match and I tried to draw the flames according to scale given the pictures. Since the flames are symmetrical, I used my scanner and Adobe Photoshop to plot out the other side of the flames on the legs and on the butt.

Wednesday (June 24)




Finally having a free time after a busy week for him, Virgil started to paint the flames over the figure. He used a flat white Tamiya paint as a surfacer to the Citadel pink paint that we mixed. Thanks to a tip from Nico (Toyboy), Citadel is made of oil and won't easily stick to plastic that's why we had to resort to a surfacer paint.

Thursday (June 25)










The figure is slowly starting to come out. Although what we did was a little thicker than the actual size of the flames in Bret's WM12 attire.

Friday (June 26)

Friday was a funny one. Virgil was technically on leave but he stayed in his workplace doing my custom. We left for Araneta for Ginebra vs. Rain or Shine semifinals game but we decided to fix the custom after the game. He outlined the singlet with pink paint and white paint, and started doing the flames design in the butt part.

Monday (June 29)

The load was on me this day as I printed tights design from my water-slide decal paper. Virgil painted some of the decal designs and I carefully placed the four stars of Bret Hart on his legs (4 on each leg) and Bret Hart's skull with wings logo on his chest. Finally I placed the star decals on Bret's boots. The figure started to come out and we were really both excited.

Tuesday (June 30)







More finishing touches on the paint were done this day. Meanwhile the stars on the butt that I printed were either too small or too big that I had to prepare another batch of stars when I got home.

Wednesday (July 1)




Nothing was done much this day. I bought a Bret Hart Build 'n Brawl figure at Green Hills while my Likhang Pinoy customs Bret Hart Mighty Mugg just arrived.

Thursday (July 2)

Thursday was the day that the custom took a significant jump. I applied the last few decals missing (the stars on the butt and the four hearts on Bret's right leg). When everything was on its right place, the figure was ready for spraying with flat-coat to seal the paint and the decals. Virgil bought a new flat-coat type from Mr. Hobby. We were both doubtful with it but decided to try it out anyway.

As we sprayed the custom figure, its beauty came out. It may not be as shiny as the regular WWE Jakks figure, but the flat coat sealed the paint and decal perfectly! We giggled like grade school students doing a successful science experiment after seeing the results from the coat. After drying it half an hour later, I attached the head, arms (with elbow pads) and the knee pads. Viola! A new Bret Hart custom










Of course, as the perfectionist customer, I still saw imperfections to the figure, but hey, it's our first try. The overall result of this one week custom greatly outweighed its imperfections. Finally on July 3, this Bret Hart custom sat on my Bret Hart shelf.

This custom certainly opened the floodgates for more Bret Hart figures which won't have any chances of getting immortalized by Jakks Pacific anymore. As of this writing, we've already done Bret Hart in his WCW tights, and we're currently doing Bret in his Survivor Series 1996 comeback vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. I think after the SS 1996 Bret Hart, we'll probably do one to two more :maybe Bret Hart in his tights similar to Unmatched Fury/ Summerslam 1992 and his tights in his early championship run, and probably do Wrestlemania X Bret Hart (CS1 failed miserably, hehe).

Thanks as always Virgil for this awesome custom. Great great talent, I'm a believer. :D

I wasn't born early enough to catch the "Big J" strut his stuff on the hardcourt. When I became a basketball and a PBA fan, Robert Jaworski was on the twilight (for real!) of his playing and coaching career. I was fortunate enough though that I followed his last two PBA seasons as a coach in 1997 and 1998. He ran for senate in May 1998 and lost touch of the Philippine basketball world since.

I don't know his appeal was, nor I don't have any classic videos to justify why he is one of my basketball idols, but his passion for the game and his discipline and longevity is one of the reasons why I'm one of his die hard fans. I remember back in 3rd year High School, I wrote about him in my English journal and my *ahem* Ateneo college entrance essay about how I idolize his drive to win, passion and discipline. He may be unpopular at times (like the cut-throat gesture at Allan Caidic, or how he voted in the Erap impeachment, among other things), but no matter what, he was -- is -- and will always be my idol even if I'm just 25 years old and the guy's 60+. haha.

I've been chasing him in the past few years, hoping to get him sign my two books ("PBA: The First 25" and "Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball"). I missed out important events which could have brought me into his presence (such as the Toyota-Crispa reunion game, the PBA's TM Greatest Game featuring the 25 Greatest Players back in 2005, or other PBA events). I did meet him back in the Philippine Cup 2006 finals and I was fortunate to get an autograph of him from a page I tore from a special FHM feature on the PBA (SEE BLOG ENTRY). The next best thing of getting his autograph was Air21's management's desire to hire him as a coach but somehow the negotiation fell through.

Good thing though, my idol was invited to be the guest of honor in the Leo Awards last Wednesday. When I knew that, I brought my two books with me on Wednesday. My statuses in Facebook and Twitter were all about my anticipation and my wish to get his autograph and meet him again in person. Virgil and I came in at Araneta, just after the Leo Awards was finished. I panicked, as I got in the Upper Box A section, and I watched him waving to fellow fans as he waled to the dug-out. I sneaked my way to the food stalls in the ground floor and walked every stall in the hope of catching Jaworski in there but to no avail. Sadly, I went back to my seat in the Upper Box A.

I was shocked though that Jawo was back for the ceremonial toss. Virgil kept on telling me to position myself already by going downstairs as I might miss him and regret it forever. The usual mahiyain me, I reasoned out that it's not good to bother him while watching the game. A good time to approach him was during time-outs, or quarter breaks. I couldn't concentrate on the first quarter as I was anticipating my move. I mean -- normally in any Ginebra game I'm so intense and so focused but this time I was distracted by my anticipation of the time I have to go down at the ground floor and meet him. Finally with a minute to go in the first quarter, I made my move, gave my ID to the usher guarding the ground floor (told her I'm going to buy food from the stalls, haha).

Finally I stood in front of two ushers guarding the ringside section. I was honest to tell those guys that I'm from Upper Box A section, but I appealed and begged to them to let me in to get an autograph from my idol. They were hesitant, but when I showed them the books I plan to autograph, they let me in as they told me to hurry up. I thanked them profusely as I walked along the ringside section.

Finally, the time came to meet him. The guys draws so much charisma from everyone that I was starstruck! He just finished signing an autograph for someone as he talked to Commissioner Sonny Barrios beside him, and I introduced myself to ask for his autograph. He asked for my name (he got it right this time!) as he wrote a long message in my book. I don't even know how to break the silence while he was signing, except I told him "Ang tagal ko po kayo hinintay para mapa-autograph yan." I should have asked him "Hindi pa po kayo officially retired diba? Baka pwedeng one last game in a Ginebra jersey naman." As he signed my two books, Commissioner Barrios pointed to Jawo that I'm even wearing my Toyota shirt! He must have signed it long enough that I was panicky not to disturb him as second quarter was under way, but when he was done, I shook hands with him (embarrasingly with almost tears in my eyes but my chinky eyes covered them) with a big smile as I thanked him. He was gracious enough to accept the gratitude as he said "Mabuhay ka, Carlo!" and when he noticed my shirt, he tapped me on my shoulders. I thanked Commissioner Barrios too (I would have asked him to sign my PBA book, but there's a next time for it).













Finally I thanked the ushers who let me in (kulang nalang iyakan ko din sila) and before I went upstairs at the Upper Box A section, I called up Rocky excitedly, again kulang nalang iyakan ko sya. hahaha. She wished she were there to witness it, but hopefully next time there'll be another opportunity to have my other PBA Annual and some Jaworski jerseys signed. :D Virgil congratulated too and was sincerely happy for me (he was envious too I got an opportunity to meet Jaworski in person, haha).

Ginebra lost the close cardiac game, but Jaworski's autograph was the saving grace. Virgil and I had a bottle of beer each to celebrate the milestone. It was a good day for basketball but the basketball gods probably thought that they'd give me one out of my two wishes (the other being Ginebra to win on that day for a 3-1 lead).

I have a couple of personalities left in my Philippine basketball books, most notably the signatures of Atoy Co, Abet Guidaben, Francis Arnaiz, Danny Florencio, Bernie Fabiosa, Philip Cezar, Ricky Brown, Freddie Hubalde, Ramon Fernandez, Ato Agustin, and Benjie Paras. I would have asked the son of Leo Prieto to sign his page on his behalf, and the other commissioners too but I can't recognize some of them.




Such an incredible feeling to experience standing in front of my sporting idols. Reminds me of my first encounter with Mr. Jorge Ledesma, one of Ateneo's elite hurdlers. Who's next? Bret Hart?

I'm not a real bookworm. In fact, I sucked at my Reading and Literature classes back in school. When something that sparks my interest though, I can be glued to my books like I can't bring the book down.

Over the past week, I got an itch or obsession to buy myself a new book. Two weeks ago at Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street, I browsed through a non-covered copy Sports Illustrated's "The Basketball Book" while waiting for Rocky to shop. Immediately I was sold to the book, but I was cautious of my budget. Rocky and I debated on whether getting the non-covered/sealed copy or not and I held on to the book like a kid for 30 minutes while she was browsing for her books. She asked me if it would bother me at home not getting a copy. I felt it would bother, yes, but I wouldn't be satisfied with the book's condition. Finally, I gave in and decided not to get the book, thinking there might be a better and sealed copy elsewhere.

Throughout the rest of the week, I ate dinner at malls with big bookstores. Dropped by Best Seller's in Galleria, Powerbooks in Shangri-La, and Fully Booked shops in Shangri-La and Promenade in Green Hills, but no luck in finding that basketball book. To satisfy the urge, I bought instead a sealed copy of WWE wrestler Edge's (Adam Copeland) autobiography. Edge's book is one in my to-buy list after reading Chris Jericho's autobiography, but I haven't seen any good and sealed copies in thebook shops. I thought about it over dinner while I was at GH, but finally relented to buying the book. What makes it special is it's written by him personally, and not from some WWE ghost writer.

Last Wednesday, riding high on Ginebra's victory over Rain or Shine PBA Fiesta Conference semi-finals game at Araneta Coliseum, Virgil and I dropped by Fully Booked in Gateway. I wasn't expecting anything at that point and it was an innocent visit to the book store, but lo and behold what unfolded in front of me: a sealed (covered) and mint copy of the Baskeball Book. My jaw dropped, I held the copy and I held on to it like a kid with a new Christmas present. Of course I had a little dilemma with the previous purchase I did a day ago (Edge's autobiography) but thank God for credit card. At least for the whole month of July, a significant part of my savings went to two books.




I instantly fell in love with the images inside the Sports Illustrated's Basketball book while browsing through the book in Fully Booked. Lots of pictures, stories, bits and trivia everywhere. I browse through it from time to time at home, in the meantime I'm still reading Edge's autobiography.




Meanwhile, Edge's autobiography is a light and good read. Written by Edge himself while recuperating from his major neck injury (two dislocated discs), the book discusses Edge's early days and his journey to learning to wrestle, his wrestling days and rock 'n roll adventures. The book is too light unlike Bret's autobiography which is a little too tragic and serious. It's like Edge speaking to the reader in a candid and humorous way. A major chunk of the book discusses Edge's heyday in the WWF back in the "Attitude" Era where he tagged up with longtime childhood friend Jay ("Christian") and those rivalry with the Hardys, etc. I must admit though that I didn't follow the Attitude Era that much because of too much sex and violence (I was a good kid, damn) and I lost interest in wrestling at that time (the wrestling era I knew was Bret's time). Hopefully I'll get hold of Edge's early matches when I get my copy of my WWE videos. The Edge I know of right now is the "Rated R" superstar who once did "live sex" with Lita (woohoo!), rivaled with John Cena a lot of times, and french kissed Vicky Guerrero for on live TV for the love of the wrestling gods out there.




Certainly great additions to my basketball/wrestling library. I don't know what next wrestling book pick-up will be as I don't intend to buy every wrestling book available (I go for honesty and not a bunch of cover-ups like the Shawn Michaels book). I hope to expand my basketball books with the NBA, as I have a head start too with the Magic Johnson autobiography (which I wrote about too in this blog's early days).
Two days, two books from two different shops for two thousand pesos. Now I have to save up. :-|

My Blue Eagles fanatic friends can't hold their excitement as college basketball season is just around the corner. I can't believe it myself how time flies so fast, it was just like yesterday when my college alma mater won the UAAP crown last year. I jokingly told Rocky that the upcoming UAAP wars is a reminder how old I am in my current job. hahaha. It's half meant actually, part of me wants to push the upcoming UAAP season away because it reminds me I'm old!

I was browsing through my pictures tonight as I saw my picture with Rocky back in the Ateneo-UST finals game 1. Kinda looked back a bit, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'm excited for UAAP. Had to search for videos in YouTube to remember memorable games that I watched. Searched some of the blog entries I wrote over the past four seasons (this blog is OLD too). My basketball infested mind (among other things) can't recall everything.

Teka! Ginebra's fighting off Rain or Shine in the PBA Fiesta Conference playoffs!




2005 was the year I introduced Rocky to basketball, but she fell in love with Ateneo rather than my PBA team Ginebra. Ateneo still had Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio and first-time coach Norman Black. However, Ateneo succumbed to DLSU with their drop-out and PEP-test players. FEU eventually won the crown after that Salgado "batok-sabay-takbo" incident.





DLSU served its suspension and Ateneo lorded over UAAP. Watched all but two games. The trio of Escalona-Kramer-and Intal pushed Ateneo to the top spot, but eventually succumbed to the heartbreaking loss against UST (tell me about it). I was raving the entire year because of Ateneo's winning ways, only to find myself disappointed in the end. Good thing Ginebra copped the Philippine cup months later :P





The "SUS" season. Still reeling from the loss the season before, Rocky and I followed the Blue Eagles as far as Rizal Coliseum in Manila. Ateneo had a good run (including cardiac games and buzzer beaters) but lost in that crucial game against NU. Meanwhile, UE swept the UAAP Elims, and Ateneo and La Salle met for a record 5 times, including three in the playoffs. Ford Arao and Chris Tiu carried the team, including Chris Tiu's end game magic. While Ateneo won 3 times against DLSU, however DLSU won in the game which mattered the most. DLSU went on to beat UE as they boasted "from suspensions to champions." (Funny how they feel vindicated -- they were guilty of fielding in ineligible players and in all aspects, they deserved to be suspended the season before. But they couldn't get over it. :P)





Chris Tiu's final year with Ateneo and Rabeh's dominating UAAP performance, with amazing rookie Ryan Buenafe leading the charge for Ateneo. Couldn't believe it myself that Ateneo almost swept the UAAP games. I wasn't able to follow the Blue Eagles by heart, as I was downed by big deadlines at work, and I was following Ginebra more than Ateneo in the PBA (if you ask me which victory is sweeter, I'd say it's Ginebra's win. Followed each game in the playoffs closely despite my busy schedule. Heck I weeped in the last game too bwahaha). Ateneo eventually won it against DLSU 4 > 0. That was for the losing streak Ateneo had against DLSU from 2004 to 2005! The Maierhofer finger gave a bad taste in my mouth as I thought "what the hell was the referee thinking." The game would have been more exciting had the referee let that mysterious finger go but what the heck. Ateneo finally won after 6 years! Yebah! Oh, a memorable roller-coaster season too for Bit and Gots! :D

***
No, I'm not yet excited about the UAAP season. :P I don't want to feel old yet. But signs of the times lead me to it. Must... fight... it! :P UAAP is 3 weeks away!

It's a bit weird that over the past three conferences, I've tried to taper down my fanaticism of the Brgy. Ginebra Gin Kings. I figured I'm growing old, maybe I should act like one. People change, why can't I?

But Ginebra kept on defying odds, starting each conference on a wrong foot and picked up its game with a good winning streak at the end. Then I started to watch only the post-elimination Ginebra games live. I did follow each Ginebra game in the PBA Fiesta Conference playoffs last year, only skipping games played in Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay. If it were the my old self, I'd watch Ginebra games to the farthest ends of Manila just to follow my team, but I guess I couldn't stand long roadtrips anymore only to watch Ginebra lose. Anyway, Ginebra won the Fiesta Conference crown last August 30, 2008 and it was the sweetest victory I experienced, with all that was happening with my work at that time, and you gotta love them -- they were a walking injured team but defied all the odds.

I can't say much about the Philippine Cup last conference. I only watched two elimination games (Ginebra vs. Air21 where Junjun Cabatu made a great debut in a Ginebra jersey, and Ginebra vs. San Miguel) and Ginebra vs. San Miguel in the quarterfinals. The other games, I watched on TV either late in the 3rd quarter or just the replay the next day (thank you BTV). Again, Ginebra started slow but amazingly finished third place at the end of the elims despite a decimated line-up. Perhaps the San Miguel Corp bosses thought that SMB is the better team to send in the Philippine Cup semis, so they'd probably chose San Miguel to win that decisive third game (coming from a 20+ point deficit entering the fourth). I refused to dwell in Ginebra's elimination, anyway I didn't watch them too much compared to the past years.

Then Ginebra suddenly have an infux of players that I don't know them anymore. Makes me wonder how they'll be able to manage egos and superstars in the team. In came ol' Ateneo favorites Intal and Kramer, plus Homer Se, Chico Lanete, and Cyrus Baguio! It's not the Ginebra team that I knew, but I shouldn't romanticize them anyway for being just the FFF (Fast-Furious-Fearless) team. Certainly, this is not Mark Caguioa's team anymore. I'm especially biased with the entry of Chico Lanete -- which relegated Macky Escalona further down the bench and eventually in the reserve list. Macky's certainly better off with another team since his style of play doesn't suit Ginebra (coming off from a Norman Black-half-court set offense). Cyrus' entry too can spell rotation problems especially when Caguioa comes back (or when will he, anyway?)

At the start of the conference I was glad an old familiar face was back -- Rod Nealy. Rod has a special place in my Ginebra thoughts coin bank since I watched almost all of the games in the PBA Fiesta Conference '07 (which I dubbed the "Ginebra boys of Summer"). I could only celebrate with his near-triple-double debut performance vs. Coke where he was shooting the lights out of the Coke Tigers while eating a delicious Gerry's Grill meal with Virgil. I also watched a Ginebra game in the Patron section live and free, thanks to my friend who works in the Burger King management (hi Pay!), only to witness Ginebra embarrassingly lose to Rain or Shine. With a disappointing 2-5 record, I was disappointed even more that the management decided to ship him away since his game is more of a slash-and-shoot player rather than a strong post presence. Perhaps the on-and-off PBA breaks contributed further to my disinterest of Ginebra and PBA. Heck I failed to watch the PBA All-Star games where Ginebra's new import David Noel dominated the slam-dunk contest. I didn't even watch the games live, even if they're playing the All-Star games back in Manila after stints in the provinces.

Lo and behold, apparently David Noel, did wonders to the Ginebra team following the All-Star break. I didn't follow Ginebra by heart so that I won't set myself up in eventual disappointment. But then, in Ginebra fashion, they picked up their game in the end with a good shot of making the semi-finals after a 2-5 record! Shades of the Fiesta Conference last year? I could only hope.

Last Friday out of nowhere, I asked Virgil if he would be interested in watching the last Ginebra elimination game vs. Alaska live. The game is important for both teams, especially for Ginebra gunning for a semifinals seat. Virgil immediately said yes, and we left work and rode the MRT packed liked sardines and got us good seats (thank you manong scalper). Got myself too a copy of the PBA Hardcourt Annual 2007-2008 (which is a great addition to my collection of PBA Hardcourt annuals). We came in with 5 minutes left before halftime. Ginebra was shooting blanks and was down by 16 points entering the fourth quarter. Good thing Ginebra uncorked a torrent of baskets and overhauled that big Alaska lead with three minutes left in the game. Willie Miller killed the game though with his end-game magic and David Noel compounded Ginebra's chances with an offensive foul. Ginebra lost, but still had a crack at the semi-finals seat.

Finally, this Sunday at Rocky's grandparents' place where we celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, good thing the TV was tuned in to PBA while Rocky's dad and uncles were drinking. If Ginebra was shooting blanks the other day, now they were shooting the lights out in Ynares Center -- of all the places! (Last time I watched a Ginebra game live in Ynares, it was in Game 2 of the Fiesta Conference championship where Air21 downed Ginebra by 36 points and lost Jayjay Helterbrand for the rest of the championship series). The game was practically over for Rain or Shine at the half, and lo -- the Ginebra team which I almost don't know anymore (following the different changes to the team) got a semi-finals stint. This coming from a 2-5 record to an 8-6 record at the second half of elims!

A part of me is guilty. Maybe I'm becoming the fairweather fan who roots for his team only in the playoffs. Or I just refused to "know" this team because of the big changes in their line-up. But anyway Ginebra made it to the semi-finals which will start in three weeks. Whatever you say, I'll make it a point to watch every game live until they win the championship :P Screw "growing old." I'm going to watch it with the multitude of kabaranggays even if I have to stand-up again along the Upper Box section. :P

GI-NEB-RA!

(Hello blog!)

Last Saturday while waiting for ABL practice call time with my teammates (Team Manalastas) in Rocky's village's clubhouse, I brought my Bret "Hitman" Hart DVDs to Rocky's place to introduce her to the world of Bret "Hitman" Hart and dynamics of pro-wrestling. While Rocky knows me as an ultimate Bret Hart fan and a Bret Hart collector, her only memories of Bret Hart is her Grade 7 classmate who had a crush on Hitman. Previous to that, she only watched wrestling back in the days of Hulk Hogan when pro-wrestling was more for the family than for mature audiences. Besides, Rocky's dad has a freaking awesome home theater system which is just perfect to watch a hi-def DVD wrestling match! Damn!

Anyway, rather than making her watch the whole Bret Hart DVD disc 1 which chronicles Bret Hart's life, I chose to introduce her to one of my favorite wrestling matches by selecting the opening Wrestlemania X match between Bret Hart and his younger brother Owen. The story line leading to that match is Owen becomes jealous of Bret's success in WWE, that's why they had to "settle" the score in the wrestling ring instead. Yeah, that's a bit stupid and immature for men to settle the score in the wrestling ring, but hey, welcome to a man's soap opera!

I remember renting a Betamax tape of Wrestlemania X back when I was in Grade school, and I really didn't appreciate the match like an adult could. It was just my favorite Wrestlemania experience because of the awesome ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, and that Bret Hart won the gold against Yokozuna after going up against Owen in the first match. I was too naive to realize that pro-wrestling is scripted. I have to admit though that I only learned to appreciate the dynamics of a great wrestling match back in the yesteryears when I got in touch with my wrestling roots, plus Bret's recent autobiography "Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling" really was a big help in spotting the psychology of matches.

Bret Hart always made it known that the art in pro-wrestling is to make everything seemingly real without injuring his opponent. That match between Bret and Owen is a good example of a high-paced technical match that two ring artists can only deliver. The action was going back and forth, back and forth, one pin after another. One thing struck me while we were watching the match: it was really amusing to see a "wrestling noob" Rocky express "ouch" or her head jerks away from the TV whenever Bret or Owen get hurt: when Bret gets clotheslined by Owen, or when Bret piledrives Owen or Owen performing a tombstone piledriver to Bret, or when the two come from a supplex off the turnbuckle. I can see Rocky's expression when Bret's chest hits the turnbuckle chest-first. Meanwhile, I can only manage to smile as I told myself "Man, they really did a good job in acting and selling those moves and protecting each other out there." They did a good job in selling wrestling to Rocky, haha! I explained to her how they make it look real, and how they choreographed the match with referee Earl Hebner who officiated the match, plus the rules in pro-wrestling too.

That match is one of my favorite matches which is a good combination of Bret's ring artistry and Owen's high-flying acts. Even if I've watched the match for a lot of times, the match isn't as boring as other wrestling matches I've seen. Bret didn't win that brotherly duel in Wrestlemania X, but it spawned more matches between Bret and Owen which culminated in the steel-cage match at SummerSlam 1995.

I felt good after watching the match, not only because I watched it in a freaking awesome home theater system, but I was able to introduce Rocky to my world of pro-wrestling. Well, she did introduce me to her world of Brandon Boyd and Incubus almost four years ago :P Someday I want to own that Wrestlemania 1 to 25 boxset anthology DVDs set, and grab some popcorn while watching those DVDs. Heck, I can watch over their house while they're on some family vacation as long as they leave me the remote control! hahaha!

Wait till Rocky watches the ladder match between Shawn and Razor in Wrestlemania X, or that bloody match between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Bret Hart in Wrestlemania XIII.

I got a bit nostalgic about track and field yesterday night, especially that I got the surprise of my life when ol' Coach Mick dropped by my blog and dropped a comment. I felt that sense of pride, especially LSGH-turned-Ateneans are carrying the team this time in the UAAP and they were close to giving Ateneo its almost-decent 2nd place finish. Suddenly I felt like reminiscing the times that I ran for the school, especially how I handled being in the track team at my freshman year. During that time, I had to endure a little bit of teasing from some of my teammates for my green origins. Well I still do but I'm always proud from where I came from, and to me that's a very sensitive matter. I knew at the end of the UAAP, I made them eat their words, and I earned their respect.

I dug up my PC, and found my reflection paper that I wrote which Coach was supposed to use, just after the December UAAP 2001 games (it felt a bit funny, since during that year, I just ran in the NCAA juniors back in February-March 2001). The things I mentioned there aren't much of a deal for student athletes, but I'll always be proud of what I have gone through and achieved. I used to love one liner-paragraphs, they're a bit cheezy below, but yeah, we're masochists and we love pain. We're crazy runners too.

*****
My experience with the Ateneo Track and Field Team is like running my event: the 110 m High Hurdles. Sometimes, I clear the hurdle successfully. Sometimes, I hit my knees, and legs on the hurdle but I shake the pain off. Sometimes I stumble on the hurdle and fall on the ground but I get up.

Being with the team, at first, wasn't that nice to me. I was a total stranger to the team when I "walked-in" to try-out last summer. I had to hurdle my way from some of my teammates who were trying to put me down, trash talk, and jeer at me. Some of my teammates attributed some of my mistakes for being a graduate of a rival school. "Lasalista ka kasi," they would tell me. They even laughed at my weird outfit during training (which was my trademark). But I did not let them put me down. I used their jeers to keep my spirit high and burning. I directed my anger to them to my training. I used their jeers as a motivation for me to improve and better myself during training.

Training wasn't easy for me for I have to balance my training with my studies. There were times when I get so stressed and fatigued due to studies and training, and there were times when I had to sacrifice my studies over training, and vice versa. Due to fatigue and stress, I found no time to study at night. I even end up very sleepy during class. From training, I received bruises and wounds from hurdling, aching body, legs and muscles from running, and an injury. But I didn't let those petty wounds stop me from practicing and perfecting the hurdles. I love the game. I practiced during the days we were not even required to practice. I tried not skipping practice, and pushed myself and gave my all during training.

Finally, the competition: the UAAP.

I was virtually an "unknown" to the league of men. I knew I would compete with veterans, but I wasn't afraid of them. I didn't let them get on my nerves. I prepared for them. I qualified for the final race, but I was up against the best hurdlers. Even if I really have no chance of winning any medal, I didn't back out; and though during the final race I saw practically all of them ahead of me, I didn't give up. I jumped over those 10 hurdles and ran my way to the finish line and ended 7th among 8 finalists. I proved to everyone that I could compete in a league of men.

I got bruises from jumping the hurdles, but I ignored them and continued running.

There were a lot of hurdles, but I jumped over them.

I get up when I fall.

I am proud from where I came from, and I am proud where I am right now.

People would ask us, "so what do you GET for spending hours for training, sacrificing all your time, and undergoing such experience?”

It's only us tracksters who know the answer. It's because we love the game.