The greatest sportsman ever?
Imagine Shoaib bowling so fast that the authorities decide to make it a 30 yard pitch for him. Or Sachin being so dominant that its decided to give one-tap-one-hand out when he is batting to create a level-playing field. Or imagine making Tiger Woods play 20 holes instead of 18 to get some excitement and competition into golf. Sounds stupid na. (Note: I am not writing on reservations).
Now imagine a sportsman who dominated his sport so much that the authorities were actually forced to change the rules and create handicaps for him and his team so as to remove the inevitability associated with the results of every competition. Won’t you call him the greatest sportsman ever? And specially so if he does all this inspite of a life-threatening accident during the peak of his career. Indeed, for me, Michael Schumacher is the greatest sportsmen ever, for his sheer dominance of Formula one racing. The maximum Grand Prix wins ever (90), the maximum Driver’s trophies ever (7), the maximum pole positions ever, the maximum wins in a single season ever,… it really doesn’t take much research to know the various records of Formula1 racing; they are all in his name. He dominated the 2003 season so much that the F1 organisers were actually driven to change rules to decrease his dominance!
Whats so special about his career is not just the dominance, but also the humility of this guy. Never ever has anyone heard any tantrums, any off-the-track scandal, any misbehaviour, any airs; not a single blotch on his record, which is quite rare in todays sports era (Carl Lewis and Lance Armstrong have their doping charges, Zidane has his famous headbutt, most sportspersons have had divorces or affairs; Tiger Woods is probably the only other guy who comes as clean as Schumi). He has always been the perfect ambassador for his sport, creating a worldwide following for it.
Another great quality is of course his resilience; F1 is a very tough sport indeed. To succeed in it at the age of 38 speaks volumes of his fitness and resilience. Most good sportsmen either call it a day during their prime (end on a winning note) or fade away slowly with age. This guy had a bad outing last season and the first half of this season, but still has the attitude not to throw in the towel and rest on his laurels but to fight back. He won the Italian Grand Prix today and is right ahead in the race to the trophy. He has announced his plans for retiring at the end of this season. Indeed, a final 8th Driver’s trophy would be a befitting end to the greatest of all sports careers
Auf wieder sehen, Schumi. We will miss you indeed.
PS: It is really difficult to chose one best sportsperson ever. Whom wud u vote for?
Now imagine a sportsman who dominated his sport so much that the authorities were actually forced to change the rules and create handicaps for him and his team so as to remove the inevitability associated with the results of every competition. Won’t you call him the greatest sportsman ever? And specially so if he does all this inspite of a life-threatening accident during the peak of his career. Indeed, for me, Michael Schumacher is the greatest sportsmen ever, for his sheer dominance of Formula one racing. The maximum Grand Prix wins ever (90), the maximum Driver’s trophies ever (7), the maximum pole positions ever, the maximum wins in a single season ever,… it really doesn’t take much research to know the various records of Formula1 racing; they are all in his name. He dominated the 2003 season so much that the F1 organisers were actually driven to change rules to decrease his dominance!
Whats so special about his career is not just the dominance, but also the humility of this guy. Never ever has anyone heard any tantrums, any off-the-track scandal, any misbehaviour, any airs; not a single blotch on his record, which is quite rare in todays sports era (Carl Lewis and Lance Armstrong have their doping charges, Zidane has his famous headbutt, most sportspersons have had divorces or affairs; Tiger Woods is probably the only other guy who comes as clean as Schumi). He has always been the perfect ambassador for his sport, creating a worldwide following for it.
Another great quality is of course his resilience; F1 is a very tough sport indeed. To succeed in it at the age of 38 speaks volumes of his fitness and resilience. Most good sportsmen either call it a day during their prime (end on a winning note) or fade away slowly with age. This guy had a bad outing last season and the first half of this season, but still has the attitude not to throw in the towel and rest on his laurels but to fight back. He won the Italian Grand Prix today and is right ahead in the race to the trophy. He has announced his plans for retiring at the end of this season. Indeed, a final 8th Driver’s trophy would be a befitting end to the greatest of all sports careers
Auf wieder sehen, Schumi. We will miss you indeed.
PS: It is really difficult to chose one best sportsperson ever. Whom wud u vote for?
posted by Akshay at 1:30 PM
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