Way to go

There are three sportsmen I admire bordering on worship. And none of them are new additions to my list of favourites, it's since 1989-1990 that I am amazed by these superb athletes and following them closely on a regular basis. One each from my three favourite sports, they are the incomparable, adjective-exhausting Vivian Richards, artistic Marco van Basten and charismatic Andre Agassi.

Well, I could go on with unwavered enthusiasm about each of these greats, but let's keep it for some other time. I thought of writing this as an introduction to this speech by Andre Agassi after his last match at the US Open last year. My dream was to see him in the US Open 2006 since it was his last hurrah and I could have been in New York. But, as fate would have had it, I was in India during that time. This is what he had to say to all his fans wearing his professional gear for the last time. Quite impressive and inspiring. Times changed and so did his form, appearance and image - but in each of those 21 years he was there, the loudest cheer in any part of the world would always come for Andre. When a fan would say, "We love you Andre!" he would respond, "I love you too, man!"

Watch it here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7lO23K8wi0