But I think you are a little harsh on Canada. You are comparing apples to oranges. Philippines is not as developed as Canada & do not have the different sports that Canada has. Yes, you are right a lot of Canadians would not recognize the name Alex Pagulayan. But they all know Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard & most would know Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker, and Mike Wier. Wonder how many Filipinos are hockey or baseball or golf stars in their home land.
Now about Alex. Yes, I agree he is way better off in Philippines with Puyat. But did you know that Alex moved to Hawaii before Christmas? He has not considered Canada home in awhile.
Canada has only been blessed with one other World Cue Sports Champion - Cliff Thorburn. Cliff was congratulated by gov't officials, appeared on Canadian talk shows, has the Order of Canada credit, Canadian Sports Hall of Famer, etc.... To my knowledge Alex has not been back in Canada since he won. How can Canada recognize him?
Don't get me wrong here. The Lion was great for Canadian pool. I am glad I got to know him a little. A great guy. He made a decision that will benefit him & his pool career. All the best. But please do not criticize Canada. If Alex chose to live here & he could have received as much recognition as Thorburn. Cliff's name is known from coast to coast.
One last thought. Do you think Strickland & Archer gets the same recognition in the USA as Michael Jordon, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Dan Marino, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Mohammand Ali, etc... get? Probably not. Wonder if Strickland or Archer ever been invited to the White House? Betcha all the others that I listed have been there. Is that shame on USA? No.
This was posted on my provincial board and i thought it was a terrific point. all words up there are Steve C's ... i feel the exact way. as Steve does and thought i would post his post. JMO