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When a dream comes true

It didn't take more than 5 seconds for me to get glued to the screen. The year was 1993. The channel was known as Prime Sports at that time. All I could understand was that a yellow and green car, driven around a circuit with a tunnel and lots of boats around it and a driver whose name sounded like an asteroid that was about to smash in to Jupiter, was zipping down the narrow streets and no one could do anything about it.

Well not till lap 33 that is. The asteroid guy had to pull over because of some problem. But by then he had already secured a fan for life. 18 years later I am still a Michael Schumacher fan. His retirement in 2006 left me dismayed that I would not be able to see the greatest driver of my time and one of the all time greatest in person. His return and the inclusion on India in the F1 circus looks like a perfect gift to me today.

As a kid and a young blogger, I remember writing a post about him when he retired. A hero who has made me believe in my abilities more than anyone else. He has not only given me the courage to stand for what is right but also made me see what perfection can look like. Nobody is perfect. Neither is Michael. His imperfection of not being able to accept defeat combined with his determination to plan his victory and his ability to execute the plan with clockwork precision brought him that much closer to being perfect.

He has a dark side is what I am told. But from that darkness a beacon of success and glory radiates like none I have come across. He has single handedly made Formula One a household name in a country like India which finds nothing comparable to cricket. He made our God, Sachin Tendulkar, want to see him and get his car signed by him. He made Sundays so much cooler. Hell he even made German and Italian national anthem as familiar to me as the Indian national anthem.

Yes. Michael Schumacher had me hooked that Sunday afternoon in 1993. And I am hoping that in 2011, on a mild Delhi winter afternoon, he will fulfill one of my dreams. My dream of seeing my hero scorch the tarmac with some rubber. Ah what a good time that will be.

Image: LAT Archive