The Name of the Game

It was the summer of 1993. A young man named Jason was living in the suburbs of Manila. He was gifted with extraordinary intellect, but he lacked physical strength. Earlier in his life, he grew to become antisocial, for he was being bullied at school, being called a madman for his "strange" intellectual makeup. But this did not stop him from displaying his intellect. He earned fame and reputation in their town and the surrounding ares as an intellectual powerhouse. Indeed, he was brilliant, but he had very few close friends. This changed little when he entered a university in the city. During his earlier years, as usual, he engaged himself in intellectually building activities. He did this to satisfy his ambitions. But a major change came during his senior year in the university. By then, he has already become an icon in the campus, earning the respect and admiration of virtually everyone. As anyone would expect, the freshmen of his campus learned about Jason - his intellect, his accomplishments, everything that made him the campus idol. And so, oftentimes, as he was walking around the campus, their underclassmen would often greet him. Until one day came. Jason greeted the crowd of students flocking to see him. He spent a few minutes sharing stories to them before his class would begin. Jason felt relieved after the conversation, something he didn't feel before. Since then, he started to spend a little time with his "fans", the underclassmen of his campus, every day whenever he could. One of Jason's underclassmen, whose name is Marvin, turned out to be a very good friend of Jason. Marvin was not gifted with intellect like Jason was, but Marvin was a man of sports. When he was in high school, Marvin was a member of the basketball team that represented his school. Because of this, he managed to get a scholarship and go to the university. Despite the differences, Jason and Marvin became really good friends. Jason would sometimes give help to Marvin on the latter's school work. Marvin immediately noticed that Jason looked unhealthy. Despite the icon's relatively huge body, Jason looked weak. "Hey big buddy. You know what, you look weak. Why don't you try to have some workouts?" Marvin once told Jason. "Nah, little buddy. I'm fine," Jason replied. "But big buddy, what if you would try to be fit? You know, sometimes you need to be fit in order to be attractive. Who knows what would happen?" Marvin insisted. That evening, when Jason went home, he tried to look at his image on the mirror. What he saw made him think. "Well, maybe Marvin is right. What if I did what he said? Maybe, girls would get attracted to me, and I would be in a relationship for the first time," Jason thought as he was staring at himself in the mirror. "Yeah, right. I'll accept the challenge. And since it was Marvin who gave me the challenge, I guess it would be a good idea if I would ask him for some tips." And Jason did just that. He asked some tips from Marvin regarding some possible workout routines, and the latter readily gave some suggestions. Jason faithfully stuck to his fitness plan. Aside from the workout routines, he also made some dietary adjustments. After a few weeks, Jason started to see some results. His belly fat has become thinner, and the lines of his abdominal muscles started to show up. Jason continued his fitness plan for a few more weeks. Using some of the things he learned, he tried several readjustments in his diet and workout routines. Gradually, Jason came to shape. His once chubby, bear-like body turned into a muscular one. Likewise, he transformed from a relative weakling into a man of some agility. The transformation gave Jason some more self-confidence. In one instance, while Jason was looking at the mirror, he said to himself, "Ah. Now I look like a professional boxer. Would it be a good idea if I would test my physical strength and try boxing?" Jason told his best friend Marvin about the idea. Marvin responded, "Well, in that case, you need some more training. I'll ask help from my acquaintances in contacting some professional trainers. But while waiting, would you mind having some sparring sessions with me?" "Sure. I'll love to," Jason answered.