Living in the Love of the Common People
Sachin is currently playing his last test match, probably pound for pound the most truly beloved man in the world, so the hype is to be forgiven.
He is a superstar. He does seem lovely. He has been a great batsman and has broken the records in terms of runs scored, appearances made, centuries made etc. My brother once saw him buying batting gloves in VKS in Ealing. His son plays for Ealing now, apparently. Super.
He isn't, of course, the "Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan of cricket", as Brian Lara, nor is he "possibly the finest batsman/cricketer ever" as various people have foolishly said. Bradman is the finest batsman ever, by too far to even talk about. If Sachin ended with an average of 60, and Bradman of 70, then there might be scope for discussion, but just to remind you, Sachin finished with an average of 53 and a half, Bradman 99.94.
Sachin is one amongst equals, amongst several great batsmen - consistency has been his great gift, as well as grace under pressure. Dravid played more important innings for India, Kallis ground out more wins, Sangakkara averages more, Lara thrilled more and played more utterly amazing innings, Sachin just kept going. He's not the Muhammad Ali of cricket, he's more like the David Beckham/Paolo Maldini of cricket. No insult to anyone. Those are two of my favourite footballers.
Speaking of Becks, and linking him to Sachin, he popped up on the big screen as England were playing Argentina at rugby, at Twickenham, last weekend. Of all the people to be unimpressed by this primping model of self-aggrandisement (as the press would have it) it would be the England rugby crowd, with rugby's notorious moral superiority to football, but, no, they gave him a standing fucking ovation. Loved. Completely loved. Because he's awesome, and seems nice, so all the press who still do him down can do one.
Beckham was a first-class footballer, by the way, one of the best of his era. He set up more goals even than my own beloved Giggsy, and the teams he played for were overwhelmingly more successful with him than without. That's one of the truest tests. Three years passed without the Premier League title after Beckham left Man Utd.
Not always, but sometimes it's the great unwashed that knows best, and the experts best go and actually check the facts.
But, anyway, this got me think of the most utterly beloved sportspeople I've ever come across - there are plenty of contenders, but the one that always comes to my mind is a little obscure, and has a lot to do with where I was at the end of the 90s/start of the 2000s.
Henrik Larsson at Celtic Park. That's a love I remember. Seven seasons where he dominated Scottish football, gave the club a period of domination, broke his leg, came back, scored pretty much every game, and was generally adored beyond measure by Celtic fans. And it was a love that never turned sour. He left for Barcelona (fair enough) where he won the Champions League, then went to his home club of Helsingborgs, before a brief spell at Man Utd where he seemed to become almost as well loved in only ten games.
His talent, his off but likeable face and humble manner, all contributing to one of those players for whom respect was completely universal.
Sports fandom can be so transient and so double-edged - look at Torres at Liverpool now, or worse Sol Campbell at Spurs. The fans, usually, they only love you as long as you're of service to them (so no wonder it's vice versa), but sometimes it really is a bit more than that.
Sachin Tendulkar has undoubtedly earned that love, so good on him, though I imagine he fancies a break from it for a good while!
He is a superstar. He does seem lovely. He has been a great batsman and has broken the records in terms of runs scored, appearances made, centuries made etc. My brother once saw him buying batting gloves in VKS in Ealing. His son plays for Ealing now, apparently. Super.
He isn't, of course, the "Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan of cricket", as Brian Lara, nor is he "possibly the finest batsman/cricketer ever" as various people have foolishly said. Bradman is the finest batsman ever, by too far to even talk about. If Sachin ended with an average of 60, and Bradman of 70, then there might be scope for discussion, but just to remind you, Sachin finished with an average of 53 and a half, Bradman 99.94.
Sachin is one amongst equals, amongst several great batsmen - consistency has been his great gift, as well as grace under pressure. Dravid played more important innings for India, Kallis ground out more wins, Sangakkara averages more, Lara thrilled more and played more utterly amazing innings, Sachin just kept going. He's not the Muhammad Ali of cricket, he's more like the David Beckham/Paolo Maldini of cricket. No insult to anyone. Those are two of my favourite footballers.
Speaking of Becks, and linking him to Sachin, he popped up on the big screen as England were playing Argentina at rugby, at Twickenham, last weekend. Of all the people to be unimpressed by this primping model of self-aggrandisement (as the press would have it) it would be the England rugby crowd, with rugby's notorious moral superiority to football, but, no, they gave him a standing fucking ovation. Loved. Completely loved. Because he's awesome, and seems nice, so all the press who still do him down can do one.
Beckham was a first-class footballer, by the way, one of the best of his era. He set up more goals even than my own beloved Giggsy, and the teams he played for were overwhelmingly more successful with him than without. That's one of the truest tests. Three years passed without the Premier League title after Beckham left Man Utd.
Not always, but sometimes it's the great unwashed that knows best, and the experts best go and actually check the facts.
But, anyway, this got me think of the most utterly beloved sportspeople I've ever come across - there are plenty of contenders, but the one that always comes to my mind is a little obscure, and has a lot to do with where I was at the end of the 90s/start of the 2000s.
Henrik Larsson at Celtic Park. That's a love I remember. Seven seasons where he dominated Scottish football, gave the club a period of domination, broke his leg, came back, scored pretty much every game, and was generally adored beyond measure by Celtic fans. And it was a love that never turned sour. He left for Barcelona (fair enough) where he won the Champions League, then went to his home club of Helsingborgs, before a brief spell at Man Utd where he seemed to become almost as well loved in only ten games.
His talent, his off but likeable face and humble manner, all contributing to one of those players for whom respect was completely universal.
Sports fandom can be so transient and so double-edged - look at Torres at Liverpool now, or worse Sol Campbell at Spurs. The fans, usually, they only love you as long as you're of service to them (so no wonder it's vice versa), but sometimes it really is a bit more than that.
Sachin Tendulkar has undoubtedly earned that love, so good on him, though I imagine he fancies a break from it for a good while!
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