Impressions are never accurate, especially if they are merely based on second hand knowledge or information.
I never met the man, so who or what he really was is only something that I could surmise from his news casting and news writing.
However, if you are in sports, even if just as a fan, you could not help but be aware of the existence of Ronnie Nathanielz. He came out of nowhere sometime in the 1960’s, and created an impact immediately in the Philippine Sports scene.
Many people hated Ronnie’s guts, according to another writer, because he was frank, opinionated and blunt, which is so unlike a Filipino.
Of course he was not. He became one only in 1973 when President Marcos issued a decree making him a naturalized citizen. Probably one of the better things Marcos did during martial law.
This only goes to show how influential Ronnie Nathanielz became in our country.
The basis of his influence was his authentic love and knowledge about sports. So many of the present big names in sports writing and broadcasting, look up to Ronnie Nathanielz as their mentor and inspiration.
His main love was boxing.
Ronnie became much more animated when he was covering a boxing event. In fact, Ronnie Nathanielz died with his boots on. He died in Burlingame, California, on his way to Las Vegas to do a round by round of the Pacquiao-Vargas fight. No wonder, because once upon a time, Ronnie was an Olympic material amateur boxer either in Sri Lanka or Australia.
His stint in the Philippines spanned the years of Flash Elorde up to Manny Pacquiao.
The coverage of a boxing event would no longer be the same, without the distinctive Indian accent of Ronnie Nathanielz.
Very few become veritable icons in any field of endeavour.
In sports broadcasting, I could name Dick Ildefonso, Joe Cantada, Emy Arcilla, Andy Jao, Quinito Henson and Dyan Castillejo. The list would be incomplete without Ronnie Nathanielz.
To have a career that spanned more than fifty years, despite some not universally acceptable affiliations, says enough of the man.
Ronnie Nathanielz may have taken a short cut to become a Filipino. Spending his best years in the Philippines and serving the Filipino sports community makes him more Filipino than most of us.
His presence will be missed by his friends, colleagues and admirers. Filipino sports fans will no longer hear the critical comments of Ronnie Nathanielz when things do not turn out as expected.
It may be a long time before somebody can take over the sandals that he wore.
Hopefully, Ronnie Nathanielz’s legacy would eventually produce somebody with his brand of sports journalism in order to keep alive the vibrancy of sports writing and commentary to which he greatly contributed.
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