I could not digest the scene after the so called "epic" finals played in Melbourne on Feb 1st 2009.
Rafa played like a champion, which no one can deny and hence he won. I wanted to see a ceremony that would honour him for his great tennis and his improvement as a hard court player. But what I saw was one sided comments from the organiser who was announcing the results. He invited 4 great legends so that they could witness the graceful Roger get his 14th Grand Slam. Openly, he says he wished Federer to win. And then, the great champion can't even take a loss. He was proud, happy and humble after wining so many Grand Slams, mercilessly destroying careers of many good tennis players like Roddick, Hewitt, Nalbandian etc. But when he cannot defeat Rafa, he cries. Should Roddick commit suicide for being humiliated by Federer?
And the worst thing about the presentation ceremony was when the organizer saw Fedex cry and says, " We shall give him some time to settle. In the meantime, we shall meet our champion." When I heard these words, I felt like killing him on spot. No fool would prefix "In the meantime" when a champions time comes to lift the crown. A losers cry is more important than a great tennis champ who shed energy and sweat and worked so hard for this.
Rafa, you are too humble, just like Roger and continue to be the way you are. Roger, you are great, charming and graceful but I did not like you stealing the show of the champion just because you felt bad losing.
This blog does not question the talent in Fedex nor his sportsmanship and is all to do about the presentation ceremony. I have moderated the comments and I will not be posting any of the Fed support ones if they are one-sided and pointless as far as yesterdays presentation is concerned.
Rafa means nothing but Positive Energy. The World has to accept this.
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12 comments:
Dk,
yes i second your thought that Rafa is full of positive energy. To me as a sports lover and FedX fan i hooked on to my TV only to enjoy the match. I personally know Rafa is a great sportsman and so to is Federer.I think no one can question their identity. So am rather least worried about on how the sponsors treated him or the sour scenes that you describe during the prize giving ceremony.
The world knows what these players are made of. There are indeed great sports person.
Srihari,
I never said you denied both are great champions. I just felt the ceremony was spoilt with the cry and "In the meantime" is unacceptable. If you donot care of about presentation ceremony, donot have it then. If you are having it, then treat players with respect. Please donot even come closer to justify the "In the meantime" comment and say its nothing for the gtreat players. I am a Rafa fan and I felt bad with what was happening. If Djokovic or Roddick would have been in Nadal's place, they would have teased Fedex and the organizers. Just give me your thoughts on the ceremony.
I do accept your view. But then "God... This is killing me" - does this mean that he is not ready to take a loss? Come on da, this means how much he loves the game and how much he was yearning for a win against Rafa. And regarding the invitation for all those legends expecting a Federer win, dont you think Federer deserves it for his achievements. What if he had win the finals? Wont it be a great thing to get his title from those legends?
"God - This is Killing me" - I think means he cannot take the loss. How does it say that he loves the sport? But I am ok with the statement too. I mean, people are emotional, so they can speak out, nothing wrong. I just did not like him stealing the show, thats all.
Dk,
I never felt Federer stole the show, the winner was Rafa & he is was man in the center stage. As is said earlier i was least bothered about the presentation ceremony. The world knew who the winner was, but the feeling that everyone had was that the stage was perfectly set for Federer to clinch the 14th Grand Slam Title which didn't happen.
I have nothing to blame the sponsors on this occasion, they have prepared the stage for the best 2 players to compete and its a delight for all of us to watch and enjoy.
~Srihari
Dude, come on. you don think he stole the show. You are lying if you are saying this.
I sure agree that Rafa didn't get what he deserved.. However I think that could not be blamed on Federer.
everything you say is fine except for 'stealing the show' part...God knows i don't like Federer, with the 'I'm not human kinda aura' abt him but i did feel for him after yesterday's ceremony...yea usually he is a bit grumpy/sore loser but to accuse him of stealing a show is too much...
everyone knows he is inhuman, doesn't like to display much emotions, so do you honestly think that he cried on purpose, just to steal the show?!
So him crying actually goes to show, how badly he was hurt...more than losing the final, it was not able to meet all those legends' expectations who had come thr especially to watch him win...comeon imagine how even i or you would feel if our entire family was supposed to turn up expecting us to win 'n we dont...'n here we are talking abt sporting legends!
Plus if you watched the closing ceremony carefully, when Federer is able to speak again, 1st thing he says is 'He doesn't want to have the last word, god knows this(Nadal) guy deserves it...'
well Nadal understood what Federer was going thru(watch the award ceremony again) 'n thts all tht matters...
@Srihari
am least worried about on how the sponsors treated him - then question your love for sports! If its a disgrace for a sport person its for the game to, irrespective of how it comes.
@Karthi
God... This is killing me - Is for the fact that he was not ready to take this defeat. He tried to all his abilities, but he Failed.
@Dk
Well written.
@Puthali,
I donot intend to say he cried on purpose or that he was totally responsible for stealing the show. But as Rafa fan, I wanted the limelight towards him for his courageous breakthrough, which I did not see. I understand people have emotions and all and I have clearly wirtten in the blog that I love their humbleness and sportsmanship. Open any newspaper on Feb 2nd except "The Hindu", watch any news channel, more emphasis was given to Fedex crying than the champion. I donot make Roger totally responsible for this, but I cannot say with full heart that what happened there was nothing and hence I am unhappy with him. I donot care if it is intentional or not(even though I am not its not), but the truth is that the show has been stolen.
The reason why the blog has been named "Rafa means positive energy" is also because of his behavior in the ceremony.
Its an interesting point to argue about in a subsequent dinner meeting.
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