Baseball Philippines

Hey All,

I'm gonna deviate a bit from bhavisha generated content to publishing something that I'm very inspired by. An alumnus from AIM worked on a thesis report to establish an MLB (Major League Baseball)-esque format in the Philippines called Baseball Philippines.

I actually think very few people in the world are fortunate to find something they are passionate about and Leslie Suntay the proponent in the Baseball Philippines MRR is one such person... he has the guts to follow through with taking his passion and turning it into something that has the potential to bind the whole country... SPORT! it takes a lot of courage to establish a circuit like the one he's set up... especially in an age where people are looking to secure themselves only through monetary means... by no means am I saying that Baseball Philippines is not capable of generating huge returns... quite the contrary... sports is a big market.. in India it's almost a 1900 crore market!

So here's how Leslie ventured into Baseball Philippines:

"With a bit of divine luck and perseverance, matched with a desire to pursue what excites you will more often result into something special; my story is only one of the many in Baseball Philippines that helped pursue a common dream for baseball that led to the creation of the only existing premier baseball league in the capital today. In 2003, my road began by helping organize an open amateur league for “weekend warriors” called the Titans baseball club, where from four teams it grew to eight all due to the clamor for more tournaments. The next challenge was to cater to a good number of players to want a Class “A” league. This prompted me to seek the help of sports gurus with a common passion that led to Baseball Philippines Pilot Series last May 2007. The work has never stopped then and what was once a simple dream has brought the game to our live radio coverage and select games shown in our very own television sets. I’m glad to be a part of something that makes me and many others happy, as the saying from the classic movie goes…”if you build it…they will come.’"

Are we losing out coz of a servile attitude?

I've been plagued by this question for a while now... I've always found that when it comes to confrontation, no matter how motivated we are amongst ourselves, when it comes to taking an issue up we always falter!!! Why?

Then I came across an article which said that Indians by nature, like to please others... example: If the boss asks you when you can deliver something, without knowing for sure you'd say next week when realistically speaking it'll take over 3 weeks...and that's coz they want to please their superiors...

During another conversation with a friend, discussing sports, I've always wondered why we haven't made it big... and what emerged was shocking,... .coz we arn't wired to win... is that a direct implication of being servile?

While talking to another friend about the racist attacks against Indians, a friend said that such attacks were not frequent or intense against Chinese nationals coz they're scared that if one Chinese guy is attacked his whole community will stand up for him and take action... there's no such 'worry' when it comes to us Indians...

We apparently like to mind our own business at our own expense.

Makes me that more certain that I will veer away from such behaviour... I could be completely off on my diagnosis but I can't understand why we can't work together and stand up for each other... sometimes taking a stand is important!

Manchester United on a platter...

Last term at AIM I opted for Brand Equity Management as one of my electives... as one of our course requirements we had to study Real Madrid and recommend branding strategies for them... which of course our class would judge and not the 'real' team... anyway.. so as part of our recommendations we suggested that Real Madrid go into a chain of restaurants... more like sports bars... coz fans usually go watch games at bars and owning a chain of restaurants is pretty cool... at least in my books... owning a restaurant has a high lifestyle, image, glamour quotient...

So when I came across a press release that Manchester United (no surprises there... they are fantastic at marketing) has given Manchester United Food & Beverage (MUFB) Asia, a Singapore holding company, exclusive rights to own, operate and develop a chain of Man U restaurants & bars all over the APAC region... I was super thrilled...

Total Sports Asia (TSA) envisioned the entire branding strategy... India's going to have its very first Man U Cafe in Mumbai at Nirmal Lifestyle in Mulund thanks to Billionaire Sports...

Right now I'm a month away from completing my MBA but I'm dying to get back home (Mumbai of course) and check the place out... so expect 'experiential' blogs about the place...