an open letter to oprah

Oprah WinfreyHarpo ProductionsChicago
May 19, 2009
Michael Marley’s Open Letter To Oprah Winfrey

Dear Oprah:

Some suspicious minds may think I am doing this to ingratiate myself with Pacmom (I’ll explain) but I have no such selfish motives.

I write to you simply because, as a former producer and story idea person for sportscasting legend Howard Cosell at ABC, I know a red hot story when I see one.

I know your show, at its essence, is about people, not things, and certainly has no connection to or interest in the grisly business of disorganized brain damage. Many people call it boxing but let’s be real.

Few people have the pulse of the world in the Age of Obama like you do. I’m not sucking up here, your ratings and success speak that truth loudly.

I propose that you have world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and his lovely mother, Dionesia, on your program. (I’ll have to check on Pacmom’s English as I bet your proficiency in any Filipino dialect or language is zero as is mine.).

The Pacman and Pacmom story is one that every man, woman and child in America can relate to.

Pacmom was the prototypical single mother struggling, albeit in a Third World nation, to raise five children.

As my mother used to say, and I would wager your Mom or an aunt did, the apple does not fall from the tree.

Good Son Manny is not only fabulously wealthy, he is beloved by a whole nation of 90 million people. His stature is such that Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo refers to him as the National Fist.

There is heavy speculation that someday soon, after he retires from the ring, he will become the leader of his country.

His opponents can’t lick him but his countrymen can because his face is on a postage stamp in his homeland.

Recently, Pacman finished strong in the World’s Most Influential Poll in Time magazine. He was listed there along with heads of state and beloved entertainers.

The mixed ancestry of Obama in American politics is a beautiful thing and you deserve credit for helping push Barack into the Fromerly Totally White House.

Similarly, the Asian-black mixed background of golfer Tiger Woods is a great story.

Manny is 100 percent Pinoy, don’t get me wrong on that. But he’s become a symbol of hope for his nation and people who strive to rise out of the ashes of poverty everywhere.

Imagine “Slumdog Millionaire” with boxing gloves, that’s the Pacquiao saga.
(Oh. yeah, that explanation. Word has somehow leaked out my schoolboy crush on Pacmom but keep that on the down low lest Pacman put me on the down low the way he just did to Ricky Hatton.)

Finally, Oprah, here’s the frosting on the cake.

Here’s the “kicker” that I think sells you on having Paman and Pacmom on your program to tell their inspiring story.

Manny just spent a small fortune to throw a lavish, 60th birthday bash for his Mom.
She laughed, she danced, she sang, she cried. She wore expensive gowns and shoes she never could have realistically dreamed of when she was battling to keep her brood from going hungry.
In a sports world filled with so many gun-toting, drug carrying and using jocks, Pacquiao is a refreshing breeze.

A late breaking news flash from Reuters causes me to double up on the frosting, Oprah, as follows:

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao is investing 1.22 billion pesos ($25.8 million) in a 400-hectare special economic zone, including a cancer treatment clinic, in his hometown, a senior trade official said on Tuesday.

Revered across the Philippines and widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao has been investing in small businesses but is broadening his horizons. The 30-year-old is even said to harbour political ambitions.

The development, which includes medical tourism facilities, an information technology park and a retirement village near General Santos City, was to be funded 60 percent from Pacquiao's personal funds and 40 percent through bank loans, said Lilia de Lima, head of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

Have I got your attention yet or the attention of one of your crafty producers?
I thought so.

For further info, call Bob Arum direct at 702 732 2717.

Sincerely Yours,
Michael Marley