EVERY GREAT SPORTSMAN HAS A FALL !

The topic may look wierd, and being written on the 1001st day of Roger Federer's No. 1 rankings in men's tennis is not to discourage Fedex, but to bring the reality.. Wish that he continues for another 2000 days like this... Also the blog is not on tennis, but on road races... Guessed it right, on the Grand Prixs and Rallies.. How many of us would have expected Valentino Rossi to miss the bus the day Fedex completed 1000 days as No. 1. For those like me who saw the race live on television, the message is loud and clear - every great sportsman has a fall - yeah, the fall meant Rossi finishing "unlucky" at 13 and ultimately missing the crown he held for 5 years. Did the followers of Moto GP thought that Valentino would allow Toni Elias to overtake him in the final straight at Portugal to take the top honours - he lost valuable 5 points there - else he would have atleast tied up with Nicky Hayden ! Should I call all these things as bad luck or the end of the road for the champion !

Lets move out from Moto GP to Moto Racing, the formula 1. The king of F1 has surrendered his throne. Schumi, a seven time champion has lost for the second consecutive time to Fernando Alonso. Though his manufacturers did not support him in the first half of the year, he came back strongly and gave stiff competition to Nando !! But, an engine failure (the last being in 2001) in Japan denied him a crown and forced him to go to Brazil with a hope that his competitor's engine also fails !! But, his bad luck continued - a fuel leak during qualifying ensured that he starts from P10 on the grid - hold on, his bad luck did not leave him there - when he moved from P10 to P5, a puncture on the rear tyre ensured he is done - finally finishing a brave 4th.. But, it would have done a world of good had he made his exit from F1 by winning in Brazil.

Why should I leave the other road racer who is on his high - yeah, he is on course (sorry, already assured) for his third consecutive crown.. Kudos for getting it right - Sebastian Loeb will the WRC champion of 2006, having held it in 2004 and 2005 as well... Hope the day of his fall comes much later, atleast after he also completes 5 consecutive crowns like Rossi and Schumi and lets pray Fedex continues his best form for years !!

Micheal Schumacher is a great racer ! Oh sorry.. Who am I to write like that.. Winning 8 races in a span of 16 years is unimaginable.. I'm writing this blog when he is on par with Alonso in points for the 2006 championship, but I believe he would rise again in Suzuka and Brazil to win the championship in style..

Schumi's winning started off in 1994 when he was driving for Benetton.. I did not watch him during those days, but started concentrating from 2000 or 2001. He really impressed me at the first instance, may be, because it was during his peak period.. Though lot is said about his sportsmanship etc., he held forte for 5 years in succession till 2004. Now that he wants to sign off in style, when he is at his peak which I too agree. Some greats like Lance Armstrong, Andre Agassi or even Zinedane Zidane (albeit his head butting incident with Materazzi) have retired in style very recently, the retirement of Schumi will be talked for years..

Ferrari & Scuderia have become famous because of this "Demi God". Will there be a replacement for him or will there be competition in the future. It is a million dollar question which cannot be answered by anyone. Though Schumi has done a lot, his Rally counterpart, Sebastian Loeb's achievements have not gone unnoticed. Though it is not a spectator sport, Loeb was ruling WRC when Schumi ruled F1. Formula 1 attracts millions of fans worldwide and the popularity of the sport in fareast speaks of itself.

You may retire today, but, Schumi your achievements will last much longer ! May God Bless you !!