Greatness and Love - A complimentary package

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 25: Cricket player Sachin Tendulkar (R) poses with tennis player Roger Federer on Day Six of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 25, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

“There were no regrets. He would do it no other way, even if offered a second chance.”

As I continued to read about Rahul Dravid and the critics’ reflections of his retirement, this one particular statement resonated in my mind long after I had finished reading the excellent piece by Sambit Bal. It’s a simple statement but a powerful one, if one thinks about it.

How many of us live our lives in such a way that if given an option, we would not want to change it? There is always one more wish in our minds that we want to come true, not realizing the actual reason behind the unfulfilled wishes.

My mind asked me a simple question: is there a correlation between greatness and no regrets in life? So I started researching about various players to come up with an answer.

To my surprise, you can achieve success even when you don’t love your sport but in order to achieve greatness, you need to be in love with your sport, the purest kind of love which is unknown to imbeciles like me. This is the kind of love which is not governed by level of fame or money but is unselfish and is fulfilled only when one plays the game. It has no perks associated with it, no selfish gains, just the pure joy of feeling complete when you walk out there to hit the ball. It gives you a chance to be who you are and what you can excel at.

Have you ever wondered why players like Federer, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid continue to dominate in the era of youngsters when they were completely written off by the so-called experts quoting their age as the biggest barrier? As they say, love transcends every boundary be it age, culture or country. The same is true in the field of sports as well.

I know it all sounds silly but have a look at the examples below and let me know what you think.

“My passion for competition and my love for tennis have a lot to do with the longevity of my game.” – Roger Federer

“I am madly in love with the sport. At this stage, I enjoy every little moment.” – Sachin Tendulkar

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” – Pele

“Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan

There are more examples of great players echoing similar kinds of feelings. We all want fame, money and glamour but what we fail to see is that the people who attain it in the true sense are the people who have loved the sport for what it is and not for monetary gains. Fame and money are like sand between your fingers; the more you want it, the further they slip away from you.

A simple look at Andre Agassi’s life will turn out to be quite informative for all of us who might be stuck working in the field that we don’t love. Agassi did achieve a bit of success early in his career, only to lose it amidst drugs, divorce and a feeling of complete hatred towards tennis. This was true until he met Nelson Mandela who told him, “You must live carefully”. From there began the rise of one of the best players in tennis history. In his own words: “I fell in love with tennis far too late in my life.”

It is only when one loves the work that one does that one can wake up early in the morning and practice endlessly for hours to improve one’s game, only then can one always be present at that practice session at 10 am without missing it even once, only then can one miss all the parties, money and fame to practice endless forehands with a wall, only then can one end up being one of the biggest philanthropists sport has ever seen.

I have always strongly believed that sports can offer us an in-depth meaning of the way a life needs to be lived. Sadly in today’s world, we watch sports for entertainment and play sports to become a professional and earn money. Nobody realizes that in sports, you can find a virtual school that can offer us lessons which can make us stronger and better in our lives. If there is anything we can learn from these players that we adore and cherish, it is just one simple lesson:

“If you will love what you do, then nothing, believe me, nothing, can stop you from becoming immortal in your field”.