FARM Fresh head coach Alessandro Lodi has taken notice of thelegions of fans in the country, even calling it ‘the beautiful part of volleyball in the Philippines.’
Against one of the PVL teams with the biggest fanbases in Choco Mucho, Lodi’s Foxies stood undeterred and held on for a 25-18, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24 win in their PVL Reinforced Conference match on Friday.
But did a dominantly purple crowd rattle the Italian?
“Not at all,” he said. “We love the crowd. It's a very fair crowd. They just enjoy the game. They cheer. You wouldn't even know, basically, during the rallies, whom they're cheering for.
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“This is the clean and the beautiful and enjoyable part of volleyball in the Philippines. This type of crowd, it doesn't bother us at all, no matter who they are cheering for.”
What has somehow left Lodi irked on the topic of Filipino volleyball fans is what he described to be the ‘1 or 0.5 percent’ that besmirches the sport in the country.
As it goes with the country’s local leagues, fans aren’t just mere spectators. They keep a close eye on players and teams they either like or dislike and ensure that their sentiments will be heard.
With Lodi’s own team often on the receiving end of criticism from rival fans, the outspoken Farm Fresh coach didn't pass on the chance to take a swipe at the sport’s ‘very loud and very negative’ followers.
“Then there is another part, which is way, way smaller. It might be 1 percent or 0.5 percent, but very loud, very negative [fans that are] made of experts who, on their couch, using social media, act like they know it all,” Lodi rued.
“They think they know better than the coaches, they know better than the players. They judge, and they are very negative in their comments. That's the not-so-clean part.
“All those who love volleyball, who are fans of somebody, not against somebody, they should also know and kind of take distance from all those, not listen to them, because they don't know anything. They talk about stuff they don't know about.”
‘You don’t know it better’
He might not have an active presence on social media, but Lodi still keeps a watchful eye on what the Philippine volleyball community has to say about his team, the league and the sport as a whole.
The Italian took a swipe at fans who use social media to spew distasteful comments online.
“Social media gives everybody a platform now. I can start saying that the earth is flat, and some people will listen, and I have a voice. Don't listen to them,” Lodi said.
“Let me say something very loud and clear to everybody: you don't know it better. I wish you were a little bit more silent. And all the positive people, overwhelm, override those negativity with your positive cheering and your good noise.”
He expressed his gratitude for the real fans who make his volleyball experience in the Philippines for the last five months a little more pleasurable.
“I take the chance to praise all the crowds, all the positive people, all the cheering people that are amazing in the Philippines, in big numbers in the arenas, and huge numbers at home, on TV, watching, live streaming, watching YouTube,” he said.
“And unfortunately, there’s also the small percentage of bashers, of negative people.”
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