Bill Borrows Column: Will Seb ever be loved like Sachin?
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This is the story of two world record-beating sportsmen.
One is the ‘Little Master’, Sachin Tendulkar, who has not so much retired as ‘declared’ after 200 Tests, 329 innings and 15,921 runs, confident his place in the history of the game is assured.
The other is four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has just set a record of eight consecutive wins in Formula One races in a single season following his victory in the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
In truth, before he made his final walk back to the pavilion last week, Tendulkar already held the records for runs in Test matches and one-day internationals, caps in Test matches and ODI hundreds (satisfyingly, pushing the marginally taller Australian irritant Ricky Ponting into second place on every occasion), while also holding the records for centuries in Test matches and caps in ODIs (‘Punter’ coming in 3rd and 5th respectively).
Vettel, however, still aged just 26, has already eclipsed the record for remorseless consistency held by his idol Michael Schumacher and is now after the great Italian Alberto Ascari’s record of nine straight wins and Schumacher’s 13 wins in a season.
No doubt ‘Baby Schumi’, as he was tagged in his formative years, also has his eye on the number of consecutive championships, total championships, fastest laps and pole positions held by his compatriot.
There’s nothing wrong with drive and ambition. It is, in fact, a prerequisite in sport and beloved of fans in every arena in the world but has the drive and ambition of Tendulkar been any less fruitful than that of Vettel? No. Odd then, that while one is revered around the world, the opposition even forming a guard of honour as he took to the pitch for one last innings, the other is routinely booed as he takes his place on the podium.
The crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was variously described as ‘hysterical’ and ‘undergoing some kind of collective religious experience’ - indeed, a banner read, ‘India divided by religions, united by Sachin.’
Tandulkar led his team-mates off the pitch with his head bowed. “’Sachin! Sachin!’ That will reverberate in my ears until I stop breathing,” he told reporters. After his lap of honour, he went to the middle of the pitch, touched the ground and walked away in tears.
After Vettel won in Austin driving ‘Hungry Heidi’, he pulled his trademark ‘donut’ celebration and opened a bottle of champagne over a cheerleader. I’m making allowances for youth, but do you think he will be revered in 10 or 15 years time? Will team-mates and adversaries be proud to honour his contribution to the sport? Will he transcend it like Sachin? Nein.
Illustration by David Lyttleton