Sportsperson of 2006- An article by Sajith Sivanandan

Even as the year comes to a close, there are plenty of articles floating around about person of the year, moment of the year, sportperson of the year, personality of the year etc. Frankly, I find a lot of these articles lacking imagination. They tend to define things too narrowly and when they do take the odd risk, like Time did this year, you somehow feel that the surprise value of the nomination overtook the actual significance of the choice. I am publishing here an article that is different- different not in its choice of the sportsperson of the year (that is what it is about and got recently published in Today newspaper in Singapore), but different in its take for what it takes to be the person of the year. The writer, Sajith Sivanandan, apart from being a dear friend of mine, is an accomplished opening batsmen but I didn't realize that his prowess with the pen was as good as that with his bat! Read on!!


George Frederick Will, a Pulitzer winning author, once said, “Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.”
When sport serves society in this manner, it rises above being just a game; it rises above the mere commercial; it takes on a hitherto unknown hue. It uplifts the spirits of man and all those privileged to view and be part of that vivid moment of excellence. So who in sports defined excellence in 2006? Was it an athlete? A team? A moment?

Let us start then by defining excellence. It is after all a much bandied about word. Should excellence be judged by achievement alone? Would Italy winning the World Cup qualify as a moment or tournament of excellence? On the other hand should excellence by defined by a memorable moment alone? Such as a silken drive through the covers with a caress of the willow by Mohammed Yousuf, scorer of most Test runs in a calendar year in the history of cricket?

True excellence defies description. It defines the moments we keep going back to, it becomes the backbone of trends we follow and adopt eagerly, and it assumes significance in our lives and that of society. In 2006 Roger Federer re-defined the meaning of excellence. For that he is the Sports Person of the Year for 2006.

I hear the groans already. Isn’t Roger too obvious a choice you may well ask? Wasn’t he Sports Person of the Year a previous year? Why him again – make a controversial choice I hear in the background. Yes he may well be an obvious choice but there is nothing obvious nor commonplace about his excellence. Given his achievements and how he handles himself on and off the court, we may well ask – is he Sports Person of the Year or is he States Person of the Year?

Statistics are but mere numbers. 90 won and 5 lost do not capture the genius of Federer though they indicate a level of untouched excellence in a sport that has depth. Just a few points away from winning a historic Grand Slam, Federer is Sports Person of the Year for having done much more than just winning consistently, though that is table-stakes for being considered for this prize.

But what or who exactly is Roger Federer? Is he just a very good athlete? Is he only a Sportsperson – competing as all sportspeople do, striving to win titles at the expense of fellow competitors? Does he just hoard his fame and wealth? Federer is more than just an athlete. In an age where footballers are coached to dive and then do it, where drugs and substances in athletics and other sports refuse to disappear, where brawls on basketball courts set vitriolic examples for youngsters, where conspicuous consumption by elite athletes is rampant, Federer stands apart. In doing so Federer is actually more States-Person of the Year than just a sportsperson.

Nobody is respected more by his peers. Opponents grumble about losing to him but remain fulsome in praise of his game. Opponents seldom cite injury, bad line calls and lack of fitness as reasons for losing to Federer. More often than not it is always about how much better he was on that day.

There are no risqué locker room stories about the player. He has a small entourage, which includes his partner of long time and now fiancé, Mirka Vavrinec. Almost as if enveloped in the slip-stream of the champion’s elegance, they behave themselves exceedingly well. There are no stories of high-handedness, of celebrations running coarse and the like.

The champion also touches the lives of many by his actions off the court. Federer is a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador and what’s more takes that role seriously. In December of this year he will be in India on the second anniversary of the Tsunami tragedy that affected thousands. Few know that in the disaster's aftermath, Roger led several fundraising initiatives including the ATP All-Star Rally for Relief, a unique exhibition tournament with proceeds benefiting UNICEF's tsunami-relief programmes. He set up the Roger Federer Foundation as far back as December 2003 to help disadvantaged children in South Africa. His impact, as is evident, far outweighs what he has achieved on the court.

Above all he has married beauty and dignity to excellence and achievement in the field of sports such as no other. Winning is a happy by-product of this fantastic confluence. Federer could win for the next ten years as he has been for the past three years and his opponents will continue to marvel at his artistry without malice. Every match he plays today resembles a song full of the most exotic instruments that uplifts anyone watching it. And when he wins (which is often), he does it with unparalleled dignity. He strides the court like a statesman, commanding respect accorded to those who are 75 and not just 25.

I can’t say it better than Grantland Rice, an early 20th century American sportswriter:

For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game.

For all of the above and much left unsaid, Roger Federer is indeed States-Person and Sportsperson of the Year.