The haters celebrate while the supporters get overly anxious. It impacts both sides in a very resounding way.
Many remain shocked at the Lady Spikers’ straight-set loss to UST last Wednesday. For a team, who for the longest time is known to play much better coming off a defeat, their performance in this game was something we all did not anticipate. The energy was simply not there. The Tigresses meanwhile played inspired ball after losing one of their top players to injury.
We mentioned before that other teams appear to have some sort of added motivation when they play La Salle. Any why wouldn’t they? The Lady Spikers have been the most dominant squad in UAAP women’s volleyball in the last 20 years. For some teams, beating them would probably be like winning a championship to them. It’s a big boost to their confidence and morale.
So why did people went on a frenzy when the Lady Spikers lost their last two games? Because it does not happen very often. It’s an enigma of sorts.
Of course we can expect their haters, not necessarily supporters of the team that beat them, to join in and celebrate; something they don’t regularly get the chance to do so.
But for the La Salle community and fans, while there are those that still remain positive despite the team’s struggles, many have now started to question their ability to win a 4th straight title. Ok, we understand that the team lost a lot of talent from last season and some players are currently underperforming. But wait! Haven’t we seen this before especially in the last three years? Let’s refresh your memory shall we.
Season 78 – Lost to NU and UST in the first round
Season 79 – Lost to UP and Ateneo in the first round
Season 80 – Lost to NU and Adamson in the first round
And we all know the Lady Spikers still went on to win the championship in those seasons right?
So what are we trying to say here? SHIT happens!
Now we don’t know what’s bugging the team now. Whether it be injuries or some confidence issues, this is something they need to figure it out. The good news is that there is a lot of time to recover.
But it would be downright foolish at this point to even think that they can’t win it all this season. Yes the struggles that they are experiencing are real but they have shown in the past that they can overcome adversity especially during the latter part of the tournament. Even if the competition has been getting tougher each year, they just somehow find a way to get it done towards the end. There’s no reason for us not to believe that they can do it again.
So haters, celebrate while it lasts. For the those who support this team, remember this, they may or may not lose more games this season but until they actually get dethroned, never count them out.