Historic. This is how best to describe the win of the national football team of the Philippines, better known as the Azkals, over Sri Lanka. This is the first time that the Philippines has advanced to the second qualifying round for the FIFA World Cup, scheduled in 2014 in Brazil.

And may I add “amazing” to the description of the game. Even P-Noy was thrilled, stating that the “entire nation was thrilled by the victory of our very own Philippine Azkals.”

Yeah, yeah, the Azkals’ 4-0 win in game 2 is no longer news, I know, but bear with me on this one. This is the first time that I got enthusiastic, perhaps just like many Filipinos, about Philippine football. Sure, marami pang kaning kakainin ang Azkals (translate that, Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado, or ask Chieffy Caligdong for help in the translation, with thanks to the splendid scoring of you three). There’s a lot of improvement needed by the Azkals.

Sure, the Azkals were far from spectacular during the first game on 29 June 2011, held before a sleepy, sparse crowd in Sri Lanka. I kept on shouting, while watching the game on television, for the Azkals to whip the opponents asses. Or to whip their own asses up to the level when they beat the Asian football powerhouse Vietnam. I shouted, cursed and pleaded — in front of the TV. Even the away score of 1-1 was no relief.

The energy at the Rizal Stadium last July 3 was on a totally different level. And so was the game of the entire Philippine team. Perhaps Sri Lanka was not too excited with football, cricket being the top sport in the country. But bring the game here, and we’ll shout our throats hoarse, rain or shine. Rain poured even before the kickoff. The Filipino fans stayed and cheered their lungs out. Even, ahem, Angel Locsin stayed. Imagine the noise I would have added to the Philippine mob if only I got a ticket.

The ticket. Man, they ought to do something about the tickets, sold out a few days after first released. They should build a bigger venue. Team Manager Dan Palami should pursue his dream of a world-class Azkal home. He was there when only a few brave souls believed. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We still have the next round to be excited about.

It’s not that I expect a lot from the team. Hold on. Let me reconsider that. I do expect a lot from the Azkals. While I’m realistic enough to realize that we may not even go past the higher-seeded Kuwait on 23 and 28 July, I expect the Azkals to perform their darn best. No whining about the ridiculous rift between the “pure” and the “half-breeds”. Azkals, both the canine and futbol types, by nature include pure and half-breeds. The Azkals play, and we cheer, under one flag. That’s the beauty of the game. In fact, I’m willing to do my share. I’d be honored and willing if the Azkals would ask me to carry their hydration liquid around (uhm, at least I won’t have to worry about securing a ticket).

It was a relief seeing the game live, without the life-threatening interuptions of too much commercials. Kudos to ABS-CBN. Watch other sports, like boxing, in other channels and you’ll have an elevated blood pressure not because Manny Pacquiao got knocked down (huh? Yo, Floyd, you ready, dawg?), but because of excessive advertisements. Still, I’d be more grateful if ABC-CBN, just like GMA7, would add an “embed” feature to the videos posted on their site so we could have it here (see the highlights of the Philippine-Sri Lanka Game 2).

We’re straying from the topic. Let me say it again — the 4-0 Azkal win was amazing. 5-1 on aggregate. The Philippines advance to the next round. We’re getting ready to cheer the Azkals on the 23rd and 28th of July. No need for vuvuzela. All I need is my war shout, my battle cry. And I’ll be bringing a lot of heart, cheering for my flag. Go Team Pilipinas! Go AZKALSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Yeaahhhhhhhh!

Now, could someone help me get a ticket this time.

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