Filipino Idol
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Reyes enjoys a rare respite at home with daughter, Roseann, and wife, Susan.
[Photo by Ted Lerner] |
Indeed, people everywhere have a tale of awe to tell, when they once saw him make an incredible shot, or heard from a friend about the time when he performed his magic. So they simply want to bask in his limelight, just touch his hand, and pose with him for a snapshot. The nation's government is only too happy to recognize and harness that fame. Reyes was awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor in 1999, and his face, along with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's, greets arrivals at Manila's airport.
"The Philippines is in search of heroes on the international scene," Reyes' longtime sponsor, Aristeo Puyat of Puyat Sports, has said. "… Here we have a champion."
Being an idol to a nation, Reyes says, "gives me goose bumps. The hair on my arms stands up. But it's also a lot of pressure. I can't turn people down." And, they expect him to win every time out. When Reyes doesn't win, everyone wants to know what happened. Maybe he's losing it, they whisper. Maybe age is finally catching up to him.
Efren also has plenty of expectations at home, where, as is custom in Philippine culture for the breadwinner, he supports in various ways not just his immediate family, but oftentimes his brothers and sisters and their children, as well as a variety of friends and hangers-on. Reyes says that every year around Christmas, jeepneys full of people he sometimes doesn't even know stop by the house looking for a Christmas present.
"I have lots of relatives," he says laughing. "I don't even know them. But they know me." Reyes says all this pressure is one of his motivations to keep going at age 51, even though many people expect he should be slowing down.
"Sure, I'm getting older, and it affects me," he says, holding his hands out to indicate slight arthritis. "It's not about the money. It's for the people relying on me to win. There is a lot of pressure on me to win. If I don't show my game, I'm ashamed. This is my job. I have to win. I'm ashamed to the people if I lose."
Reyes, though, readily admits that his game is not what it once was.
"From 1973 to 1979, that was my best game," he says. "Nobody can beat me. From then I'm half of what I was. By 1979, I didn't have any opponents, because nobody wants to play me. So I stopped for six years. That's when I play carom. I didn't come back until 1985 in the United States."
Since winning the World Championship in 1999, Reyes' popularity has soared, and the pressure to win has been accompanied by a punishing travel schedule. Reyes reveals, however, that the travel barely affects him, saying it doesn't tire him, only that he gets nervous when he flies.
Reyes says that the life of the gambler, which includes constant late nights, sometimes days without sleep, and smoke-filled rooms, actually serves as a prime stimulus for him, rather than a detriment to his body and his career. He says he can play pool for days on end without sleep and, still, compete at the highest levels. The key, he says not surprisingly, is the action.
"It's better for me if I stay up all night," he says with a laugh. "So long as I'm playing pool. If I stay up all night doing nothing, or playing mahjong, then I will be tired the next day. But not if I'm playing pool. The action in pool is at night, not in the morning. That's why I stay up all night. If you're playing for money, how can you get tired? If there's no money, or I play by myself, there's no way. Playing for money gives you adrenalin. Gambling is my practice."
Motivated by the money, and the expectations of a nation, Reyes says he has no plans on slowing down in the next five or six years. Besides, he says, "I still love pool."
After nearly two hours of talking, endless food and a bottle of brandy, Efren says he has to go. There's a card game somewhere in town. As he walks to his car, people at the neighboring plots yell out, "Hey, Idol!" Efren smiles and waves, climbs into the passenger seat of his black sedan, and then heads off through the still-packed cemetery.
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