Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

This is a mandatory blogpost.
I just got off the television after watching his farewell speech and the tears couldn't stop rolling down my cheeks.

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Today I realized what drew me towards the game the MOST. It was during the farewell speech that it dawned that I probably loved Cricket solely because of this wonderful gentleman giving this extremely emotional speech. He is undoubtedly the Best Cricketer in the world and his statistics are beyond imagination but today what sparkled right through his face, what made the thousands cry, what made the people chant his name like a prayer, what made the atmosphere so surreal - was the person he is.The way he spoke, the way he took every name that mattered, the way he kneeled down and touched the stadium in respect, the wide smile he gave to the people while holding the flag and the way he spoke about his family spoke so much about his charachter  He played extraordinarily and made India proud but what made it so lasting through a few failures and many successes was something beyond his game!

 Beneath all the skills, all the layers, all the media attention, all the hooting and shouting and cheering he seemed crystal clear today. Anybody who heard him talk could see how passionate he was about his game, how true he was to what he was doing, how humble he was to people and how grounded he was to his belief. Thats what set him apart and added a zing to his aura. There might be better players some day after a few years, and better statistics and maybe even better media attention but  the connect that he built with people through his heart is what is rare. They say that we are innately good people and we connect to people who are innately good. That connect is what made people tear up, what made people sad and what inspired people to be just like him.

Today like many others I want to be Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I want to be true to what I love, passionate about every single thing I do, humble to everybody around me and unaffected by any attention or praise that I receive. I want to be remembered for the person I am, and the things I did by not changing the person I am and above all I want to love what I do and do what I love :')

I just read this somewhere and I think its amazing : I Imagine Ramesh Tendulkar going up to Sir Don Bradman in heaven right now and saying, "See there, That's my son!."

You Inspire us, Sir. We are very very proud of you.

(I've never been a crazy Cricket Fan, I have watched a couple of matches, cheered a lot, danced on the roads at Midnight after the Worldcup and followed a little bit of IPL but my knowledge about the game is minimal. Its just enough to understand what's happening. But today, I read my way through the first two pages of Google after hitting "Sachin Tendulkar". Thats the effect he has on me. That's gotta be something ! Something more than mere statistics. Something close to the person he is! )