IBA 2.0 Part-1

My so-called 3 month long summer internship came to an end on 18th of June 09' as i boarded the train back to Bangalore. It was a remarkable period in my unremarkable life. I started my SIP, with a lot of hopes and dreams for the coming period. But how it eventually turned out is unreal. My initial burst of energy slowly faded away and i switched back to my old ways of lying in front of the PC all day long and trying to entertain myself with orkut, facebook, movies and games, which was very UN-ENTERTAINING to say the least. The only spark was the end of the day talk with a special someone (from my side atleast) and day-dreaming about the future, ignoring the reality. But that chapter came to an end when i opened my stupid mouth and blurted out my feelings. The aftermath was quite obvious. The happy days were over and reality was staring at my face. I retreated back to my cave. But I couldnt hide away forever. So i turned up the volume of the outside world, hoping that the noise outside would drown the pain inside. It worked well when i was around with friends and family, but nobody can reach inside and make the pain go away. More about THAT some other time.

I found my coach and settled down. Some of my college friends were on the train too, had to say HII and all, just to be nice. Honestly i couldnt care less, but the NICE GUY SYNDROME takes over. They gave me a lot of shitty news, more classes, more assignments and a lot of other scary speculations. I had a sinking feeling inside and a part of me wanted to run away. But i carried on, (AS IF I HAD A CHOICE). I excused myself after an hour of fake laughing and college dissing. I slept off the rest of the journey, a better use of my time than wasting on people. But i was restless; due to obvious reasons. I had to figure out what to do with the TIME(not LIFE) thats ahead of me. So I Chalked out some plans, wrote it in my pocket diary, never to be opened again for sure, but had to do it to make myself feel better. Uncertainty clouds my reasoning, which breeds chaos.

Thats all for now.

THE G.O.A.T. - Roger Federer!

On Sunday, june 7th 09 Roger Federer defeated Robert Soderling to win a record equalling 14th career grand slam and his first at the french open, after reaching the finals on three previous occassions. This time though there was no Rafa to stop him ( Thank you soderling for that !) So the argument is once again back on the table - Is he the G.O.A.T.? ( greatest of all time- for the ignorant). In terms of pure skill, record against opponents( except rafa), his dominance over the period and ofcourse his impeccable grand slam record he is the greatest of all time. But to be regarded as THE GOAT, a champion has to have more than ability and skill. Lets look at a few OTHER crucial factors that maketh a LEGEND.

1. Consistency - I believe consistency is the true hallmark of a champion, to reach the top is not that difficult, but to remain at the top for a major part of your career, even if you are not in the best of the shapes or form, that requires a lot of courage and determination. To keep yourself motivated is the biggest challenge of them all. Roger definitely has displayed this quality in ample. So full marks to him.

2. Performance Under Pressure - This is the one aspect that separates the men from the boys. And Roger federer is definitely a MAN OF STEEL. He has risen to the occassion more often than not. But recently his aura of invincibility has taken a beating at the hands of Nadal, reducing him into tears at the Australian open final. But we cant count him out on the basis of one or two occassions. So a thumbs up to him on this aspect.

3. Respect For opponents - despite losing to Nadal so many times, Federer never lost his cool. He gets emotional when he loses yes, but never plays down his opponents. he always acknowledges and respects his opponents skill. the Nadal-federer rivalry has hooked the entire tennis world but they still have enormous respect for each other, which is a desirable trait in a true champion.

There are many other aspects but to me these three are essentially essential. Federer stands tall in all the three. So to me atleast he is the GOAT. And even the legends agree :

Federer's versatility was epitomised by Jimmy Connors' statement: "In an era of specialists - you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer". David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip", while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport".

So we are indeed lucky and privileged to see in action THE GOAT - ROGER FEDERER. His shots are poetry in motion, the subtle angles, the aweinspiring forehand and the merciless serves. My only wish- To see this man play for real.



For more information on Roger- try this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_federer

So it begins !

Well lets start blogging .... again !

But this time a little bit more seriously and consistently.

In this blog I will explore the matters that matter to me, straight from my head and ofcourse my heart too !!

- Shady