Adolf Hitler Dorde (Photo courtesy of Spin.ph)
Got it. Filipinos love to name their kids after iconic heroes of their fields. At one point in time, the newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer had two journalists named Robert Jaworski Abano and Philip Cezar Tubeza. True story.
And for sure you have read about Queen Elizabeth, Sylvester Stallone, Vladimir Lenin, Mariah Carey, Lebron James and the likes, all sporting distinctly Filipino-sounding surnames.
It’s an out and out homage to people who have shaped pop culture and provided inspiration to people around them. Nothing wrong with that.
But what would possess a parent to name his or her son, Adolf Hitler?
The one person responsible for the death of six million people – mostly jews at the height of World War 2. The one person anybody could think of when talking about evil in this world.
Apparently, somebody did. And yes, they happened to be Filipinos.
Enter 16-year-old Adolf Hitler Dorde, a stalwart of the Sulong Zambales basketball team that competed in the Smart-NBTC North Luzon Regional Basketball Championship.
Spin.ph broke the news of this lad who caught everyone’s attention not merely for his brand of basketball, but for the ignominy of the name he carries.
Dorde may have realized the impact of having such a name that in his Facebook account, he simply goes by “Dorde Adolf.”
Dorde told the sport portal that he would just laugh it off when somebody raises that issue.
Turned out he was named after his grandfather – named Benjamin – who in his lifetime had acquired the nickname of Adolf Hitler.
Probably because of some “bad boy” character the elder Dorde had. Given that all these years, for us Pinoys the word Hitler has become, albeit wrongly, synonymous to strictness and terror.
Dorde, who studies at Botolan National High School, said he is nothing like the name implies.
In fact, even his coach Eugene Ditapat said he’s one of the nicest players in the team, following his instructions and displaying discipline.
Ditapat said Dorde may not be the strongest player in the squad but he’s got tough basketball sense. During their game against DPR Aviation College at the Central Luzon State University Gym, Dorde scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Not bad, at all. With a lot of hardwork, Dorde could excel in basketball if not in any other field he chooses to go.
Remember God Shammgod? He created a stir when he entered the NBA draft back in 1997, and was selected by the Washington Wizards.
For good or bad, both of them had a big name to live up to.
