Heroes

Why do we cheer for complete strangers during a tennis/cricket/football match? Because we want our individual/country/team to win. Or maybe somewhere in our head, we think that cheering them will absolve us from the actual duty of performing in a match. We aren't good (read: fit) enough to participate anyway. Or maybe I'm mistaken as usual. It's perfectly normal to want others to accomplish what we possibly couldn't. At least that's the case with Indian parents. Intriguingly, there's a sense of achievement in others' success when it comes to sports. However, our species is not known for exhibiting such behavior as far as non-sports activities are concerned. Although we envy our neighbours we make sure we respect the brilliance of a guy wearing an opponent's jersey. That's how a sport rolls! Simply put, it allows us that exclusive space to be noisy, euphoric, sad, abusive, contemplative, opinionated, wasted, speculative and alive. Simultaneously. Plus, there are moments to take note of. For instance, when Federer lifts a grand slam title, you experience unchecked happiness although you won't extract even a cent of that million dollar cheque he just received. It's OK as you want the super-rich Swiss to bag five more such huge titles. On the downside, you empathize with Sachin when he goes limp in his final days and 'abruptly' declares retirement from ODIs. You acknowledge the burden those shoulders must have carried for more than two decades. The reason why you do so is you know that nobody can replace him. You'll neither watch a match for the sake of one cricketer nor switch off the TV when he gets out. In simple words, you'll never ever love a batsman more. On the other hand, when Messi scores 91 goals in one year, you are elated. To you, the Argentine defines the struggle of an athlete who had everything going against him—even his growth hormones. But you also notice that his triumph marks the victory of human endurance and hard-earned skills, coupled with uncanny humility. You want him to helm that World Cup in Brazil so that his detractors can shut up in peace. That's the fan in you talking to you. Like you have yours, every sportsperson has a melodramatic story to boot too. But very few amongst them make you feel their joy and pain. And that's precisely why they are your heroes. 

Being a goal model

If Messi doesn't inspire you, nobody else can. And you don't even have to be a football fan to be messimerised by this little genius. Last night, he scored his 86th goal of the season for Barcelona thus breaking a 40-year-old record. But what's amazing about him is not the statistics attached to his career. He loves to humiliate arithmetic week in and week out. Like they should be saying, records are meant to be broken... by Messi! People around him keep pointing out his humility and it shows in the post-match press conferences too because unlike most of his contemporaries, he's quick to unburden himself of accolades. He's different from others. The style is lacking but the basics are strong like anything. He doesn't believe in showboating as he has a job to do and he'll get things done before the final whistle blows out. The best part is he makes it look easy. But then the catch about magicians like him—alongside Federer, Ronaldo and many more in sports entertainment—is they successfully hide what it actually takes to be them. They somehow don't reveal the pain and the hardship that went into their making. In about 3 weeks, we'll get to know whether he'd become the first player ever to win four Ballon d'Or. 

According to an extensive study conducted by yours truly: Messi > Ronaldo > Ballon d'Or

There's no point in comparing Messi with Iniesta. Also, it's high time we replaced apples and oranges with Messi and Cristiano for comparison's sake. The former inspires superlation while the latter invokes awe and this particular blog post is unabashedly in favour of the flea! Sorry but I'd like to believe that it's alright as the person concerned is an once-in-a-football phenomenon.