Sunday 28 September 2008

Worst Birthday...

If I am dumped by my Girlfriend after a 5 year relationship, I'd be disappointed.
If my Dad says I've disappointed him, I'd be disappointed.

But that "disappointed" is nothing compared to how I am feeling right now. I don't think anything else in the world can possibly make me more disappointed. Tomorrow is my Birthday. I'll be turning 20. The best possible gift would've been a Ferrari 1 & 2 finish in the Singapore GP. That wasn't actually being too optimistic, Massa started 1st and Kimi started 3rd. If things went normally, I would've got what I wanted. Even if Kimi had finished 3rd. But NO.

Never have I ever "wanted" something for my Birthday this Badly.

When I sat to watch the Singapore GP at 530 in the evening, I had no idea what was in store. I couldn't have possibly guessed. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have dreamt of a Ferrari no finish. Both of them. Not finishing (Massa finished, but that doesn't count. A Non-Point finish is No Finish).

It started off brilliantly, Massa was flying on 1st, Hamilton tucking in behind him and Raikonnen in 3rd, silently eating away Hamilton's lead on him. Regulation pit stop for Massa. And that's where everything went wrong. The lights which are supposed to co-ordinate with the fuel rig went off even before the mechanics pulled the fuel rig off the car. So when Massa saw the green light (indicating him to leave), he stepped on the gas pedal and he zoomed off with the fuel rig still stuck to his car. That turned out to be disastrous. Obviously. He had to wait at the end of the pit lane for his mechanics to run and come to him to take off the rig. 2-3 mins easily. Gone. That scripted the end.

I couldn't have been more disappointed. No way, atleast I thought so. Raikonnen was running strong on 5th, nearing the end of the race and then he crashed out trying to overtake a Williams. That was the epitaph. Just when I thought there couldn't have been any more disappointment, this had to happen. Now I feel like dying.

It may sound like I'm exaggerating. It's just a game you might say. But I value Formula 1 more than Cricket. To me, a Ferrari Driver winning the World Championship brings more content and happiness than India winning the World Cup. Honest. I started watching Cricket since I remember watching TV. Sachin Tendulkar is God. But Formula 1 came only in 1997. Ever since then, It has slowly eclipsed Cricket. A Pulsating F1 race is much better than a last ball victory for India against even Australia.

The technical details, the fast over-takings, the brilliant driving scenarios, the technology, the mechanical brilliance, the unforgettable duo's commentary, the fine details, the physics, the amazing driver-team relationship, the camaradarie, the awesome sweeping tracks, fast straights, picture perfect pit stops, the aggression of Michael Schumacher. All this is enough for me to last a life time.

I could die watching the Spanish Gp of 2000 again, the Belgian Gp of 1992, Schumacher's Godly driving in Brazil 2006. At the same time, I could die watching those 3 awesome innings of Sachin Tendulkar at Sharjah against Australia, that awesome match saving 98 against Pakistan during the 99 world cup, that mind boggling 243 against Australia in Sydney in 2001, which had 0 runs in the Covers area.

But to me, Formula 1 stands above Cricket. Anytime. I wouldn't mind robbing my family to go watch the Indian Gp in 2011. I am THAT crazy about F1.

So when I sat to watch the race today, I was asking God for something simple. A simple, no frills race. That would've definitely been the best ever birthday gift. Honestly. All those presents from my dear friends, sorry, this would've ranked much higher than those. But that wasn't to happen. Never have I asked for something, so blatantly. And I don't get that. Expect me to feel anything other than Disappointment??

I've discovered that when I'm morbidly disappointed, I am fickle minded like crazy.

But even after Ferrari racing like total rookies for the past 3 races, I'm still a die-hard Tifosi at heart. That will never change. Everywhere I see Red, I'm reminded of Ferrari.

My Life's Purpose is to own a Ferrari and drive it down the auto-bahns of Germany. My Life's Dream is to have "tifosi" tattooed on my body.
My Life's Achievement would be to watch every race of a Ferrari Championship winning season at the Track screaming my lungs out.

Enough Said.

3 comments:

Rakesh said...

" that awesome match saving 98 against Pakistan during the 99 world cup "


CORRECTION : 2003

BERT BERT BERT BERT!!

Anonymous said...

Massa's screwed up pitstop will forever be the most hilarious moment in F1 history.. Lol I still cannot stop laughing. A ripped fuel rig still attached to a Ferrai that is going out of the pitlane followed by mechanics who are sprinting the entire pitlane to remove the tube that is sticking out of the car.. Lol..

The joys of a screwed up Ferrari Pitstop.. Poor Massa..

And Cricket >> F1. Period.

free..

Karthik.H said...

@rakesh

see, that's how much I care about Cricket.

@gs

well, comedy of errors.. You see it as a funny moment.. I see it as one disgrace for the all those awesome pit strategies that Ferrari's worked out till now..

F1 --> cricket.. :P