A tryst with sporting autobiographies

When struggle meets passion, it makes for a good story. But in the field of sports, that story almost always turns into a battle. That dramatic, epic quality of sports was what made me start my tryst with autobiographies of sport stars.

Being a huge fan of Rafael Nadal, I have read every ounce of information on the Spaniard that is out there. So there was no reason to not read his book, ‘Rafa, My Story’ as soon as it was up for sale. And after I finished reading it, I could find only one word to describe it – redefining.

Many of us know that Rafa is a fighter. He fights for points as though winning them would oxygenate him. Everyone talks about his mental strength like it is a locked treasure, the key to which is lodged somewhere in the ocean of his mind. But in his book, Rafa reveals that he constantly doubts himself and his ability. What he doesn’t doubt are his perseverance, his patience and his determination to learn.

When he lost the 2007 Wimbledon final, a match which I would describe as a milestone in his career, he paved the way for the success that was to come next year. In his book he says that after the loss, he resolved to himself that he would not lose again if he was given another opportunity to play the men’s final on Center Court. He couldn’t have known for sure that he would get that opportunity the very next year, but everyone knows what he did when the opportunity did come knocking – he achieved his lifelong dream of lifting the Wimbledon trophy by defeating Roger Federer in perhaps the greatest tennis match in history.

For Lance Armstrong, a pugilist in the cycling world, cancer was perhaps the least expected enemy in an unforeseeable future. ‘It’s not about the bike’, Armstrong’s autobiography, is a book that reveals, not the story of a cyclist climbing the ladder of success, but of how he rediscovered that he is just another human being and that cancer is impartial.

Channeling your aggression and energy is the best lesson that this book offers. When one of his sponsors from France came to evaluate his health condition, with the prospect of terminating his contract, Lance promised himself that in one month he would go to France and show what he was made of – nerves of steel. He did it.

Speaking of nerves of steel, I am reminded of another brilliant autobiography which sent shock waves in the tennis fraternity. ‘Open’ by Andre Agassi is nothing short of a fast-paced, action-packed, thrilling novel. The difference, of course, is that ‘Open’ is not fiction.

Agassi putting into words the raw will to overcome the pain when he got injected numerous times to set his back straight is one of the things that moves you deeply. When his trainer told him, “Some people are thermometers, some are thermostats. You’re a thermostat. You don’t register the temperature in a room, you change it”, it shows the impact Agassi had on people.

What is similar in the stories of each of these autobiographies is how the protagonists drew energy from the people around them and made opportunities out of ordeals. What is distinct is the personalities of the protagonists. Each has got a flair of his own and an uncontested charisma.

So whenever you pick up an autobiography of a sport star, be sure of one thing: you will read a story not of a sports person but of struggle and inspiration presenting themselves in peculiar forms and variant ways. I am ready for my next one – are you?