A Walk Down Mt.Olympus

(Over the years I have been very fascinated by various professionals in various fields for the challenges and adventures they faced in their field of work on a daily basis. When I was young enough for my actions to be acceptable, my fascination often culminated in me trying to live a make belief life in the shoes of these people. A bus conductor, a coconut tree climber, the guy who milks the cow, the barber etc, I am told, were my idols for the period of two months of summer vacation I spent every year at my grandmothers. Twenty years later, society would lock me up somewhere if I were to play make belief on such 'trivial' professions and contrastingly hold me in high esteem if I exhibit more sophisticated taste of profession such as engineering or medicine. Well, today I am going to relive the old days of role play and play the part of a sports journalist (nothing that warrants getting locked up somewhere), a role I have envied and admired for ages now. With an appeal to be excused issued addressed all the good sports writers out there and anybody who plays any kind of sport who might beg to differ with my views.. Here i go...)

The 'legends of a sport' are essentially those hands that rock the cradle that is their respective sports. Its they who inspire the moments of brilliants all across the sport. Whether it be with the very gifts that god has given them or with the will that they created in the countless others who work hard and play hard to try and one day become like their idols. Yet the credit and respect don't come so easy and it is usually never the rosy picture that hindsight provides in most of the stories of these legends. The Jordan's and the Schumacher's have all had their ups and downs. However, what sets them apart is probable their reactions to those situations.

Over last few months too many sporting Idols seem to be coming to the end of their lives of being invincible. We have Lance Armstrong shattering his 'idol'hood with a brave cry of acceptance of his mistakes, though only after being backed into a corner. Sachin Tendulkar is starting to feel that there is only so long that he can fight against the greatest opponent of them all - Time. Roger Federer seems to finally have gone from No:1 among the fab four to No:4.

As an ardent sports lover I have wondered for quite sometime as to how difficult the lives of these stars must be. How they manage to put up with the life where everyone seems to be eagerly waiting for them, more often than not, to come crashing down. There must be no worse feeling than to be dragged down from the top of the mountain that you once conquered. Quite often than not it can shatter ones resolve and will. Yet the fact that they manage to drive themselves to continue forward, try and climb to those heights again, love what they do and carry on is indeed an admirable quality.

Only sometime ago at the Australian Open, Andy Murray had Roger Federer's number and was all over him. The match was probably one of his most dominant displays over Federer. Yet Federer scratched and pulled and hung on and before anyone realised we were into a fifth set. The years when the Fedex dominated, questions were raised about his greatness because the general feeling was competition was poor. Then came along Rafael Nadal, a champion who sacrificed his body to be able to beat Federer and people questioned his greatness again. Now, here he stands, unable to overcome the combination of a champion opponent and an aging body and the world seems to saying that he will never be the same again because of the time that has passed by.

From being the sole person in charge of the fates of a team of 11, picked from a billion people, and having carried that responsibility with aplomb for more than a decade, Sachin Tendulkar has come to a state where he is being questioned by every Tom, Dick and Harry on the street. I am not suggesting here that his previous achievement or service entitles him to preferential treatment but just wondering at how he is still able to focus on his responsibilities when everyone seems to be doubting him. Might be the answer is as simple as his love for the sport but one cannot ignore the mental strength probably necessary to be able to block out everything else that gets thrown at him so that he can just play the sport that he likes.

Lance Armstrong seems to have disappointed the whole of the planet, but over the interviews he seems to be pleading for a second chance. Here is a man who has fought cancer and founded a noble institution to inspire other fights against cancer and people just want to see the man grounded to dust rather see him given a chance to make up for his mistakes. While this probably is not one battle which will happen in a sports arena, the little part of me that considered him a legend for so long wishes him all the very best in what is undoubtedly going to be the biggest battle of his life yet. I hope that he is given a chance to change and that we get to see a wonderful inspiring story from the man after all.

Ironically though, it is probably during this walk down the olympus they lived in so long that it becomes more clear than ever as to why they deserve their tags as champions and probably a small insight into how the mind of a champion works. While everyone sees a Federer trying to scrape past his younger, fitter peers in the top four and struggling, what Fedex himself sees is probably his biggest challenge yet - a fight against time. While people are calling for his head Sachin Tendulkar is probably thinking only about beating age and slowing reflexes one more time.

Sports fans have always loved a good comeback. We love a suspense thriller style script and what better than a falling star who rises up. I believe its this liking of the fans that continually push them to support the underdogs and write off champions. All in the little hope of getting to witness something special. Well, this is probably one situation where the fans can write off these champions and not be served a second half with a reaction that will give you goosebumps. This is after all a fight against time. It is precisely because of this that I feel that its time to not complain too much and instead sit back and enjoy their spirit and valor while its still on display. Try not to keep your hopes high and instead focus on the good things while they last. Because the familiarity of the script points towards this being a 'Braveheart' type movie where you are standing up and applauding, goosebumps and all, while the protagonist walks into the sunset, not having been able to accomplish the impossible but having left an lump in your heart with effort and passion he showed in his attempts.