My Sports Icons
Nick Hornby knows what he is talking about. He takes mundane subjects-such as being a normal guy-and puts it down into paper so matter-of-factly. The first Hornby book I read was High Fidelity. It talks about how a guy is like when it comes to love, sex and music. The last book I read of his was Fever Pitch. This time, this book appealed to the sports fan within me.
Not many people know this about me-but I follow English Football and Formula 1. And whenever my team in the EPL is in bad form or my driver of choice is losing in the championship, I myself get affected. If my team loses (and since most of these games happen on a weekend), my week would go very very badly. Conversely, if my team is winning I get incredible luck on that particular week. Before I read Fever Pitch I thought that it was just me. When I read the book, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Hornby have got it worse than me. It seems that his whole life’s luck is very much dependent on the fortunes of Arsenal FC.
(Co-)Incidentally, I too support Arsenal…
So here are the sporting icons whose fortunes contrast mine:
Arsenal FC
I fell in love with Arsenal and became a Gooner right after the 2002 World Cup. In 2002 my interest in football peaked. The televised world cup games certainly helped and I felt enamoured by the English Team. Hence, I thought that the English Premier League was a good place as any to start shopping for my ‘team’.
Then I read About a Boy, another Hornby book. Though football was never lengthily discussed, it was clear that the characters were Arsenal supporters. Days passed until I finally saw my first Arsenal matcg. I remember it clearly, it was against Manchester City. I wasn’t able to finish it though because by the time the 2nd half started it was already 2 in the morning. Vague memories tell me that Pires scored on a set piece that match.
The next year Arsenal made history by going unbeaten on their way to lift the Premier League crown. Theirry Henry was king of England in that campaign. Freddie Ljungberg had a pink mohawk (or was it the year before). And David Seaman was unceremoniously made to retire (after being unceremoniously dumped at Man City). It was glorious. And that is how my love affair with the Gunners of North London started.
The following years saw the championship wrested from the Gunners’ hands by the paramount United and big-spending Chelsea. My idol, Thierry Henry, decided one day he did not want to be a Gunner anymore and decided to head off to Barca. It’s been 4 years since Arsenal last lifted a trophy. They came close last year. Here’s hoping this year will be it!
Kimi Raikkonen
The Iceman, they call him. They say ice-water, instead of blood, runs through his veins. He rarely shows emotion. Robby the Robot has more emotion in his voice than Kimi. Listen to him speak and you will know what I am talking about (got the pic from formulaf1.com). But do not let his devil-may-care demeanor fool you; he’s no sap. In fact, he lives quite a lifestyle. When not entering (and winning) a snow-mobile race in Finland, he is out racing lawn mowers.
So what’s up with all the love for the Iceman? Well, up to last year he never won a championship. It was a case of “always a bridesmaid never a bride” for him. Then he joined Ferrari and kicked Hamilton and Alonso’s Mclaren ass, on the last race of the season nonetheless.
His style was so markedly different from Michael Schumacher-arguably the best driver-that if you hate Schumi then it was impossible not to like Kimi. And luck was never really on Kimi’s side. But that totally changed last year when he joined the Prancing Horse. Just goes to show that lady luck is a Tifosi(a Ferrari fan). If not, then probably it’s Satan who’s the Tifosi.
Right now Kimi is in a three-way tie with Lewis Hamilton and team mate Filipe Massa. Massa is wishy-washy but Hamilton is a real threat. If the Brit gains momentum then Ferrari and Kimi can kiss the championship goodbye. Here’s hoping that Kimi wins the next race.
Shohoku High School Varsity
So what if they’re fictional! They’re as real to me as my next door neighbors. I lost interest in basketball the moment I learned that basketball never really was interested in me in the first place. But Slam Dunk changed all that. It made me fall in love with the sport all over again. Credit Takehiko Inoue for coming up with a truly sublime piece of manga magic.
I have not been in a competitive basketball match for quite some time now. But when the time comes when the coach calls my number, he can be sure that I’ll be wearing number 10.
ike ike shohoku!
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