BacktoCricaddict

Not today, bhai. Not today :-(. Allow the jazbaa for a week, and then you can be the voice of reason and all.

@zen Made a huge correction on my T20 team:

Choo .... tee ....... haas

Without a doubt. He owned that whole WC too. Playing with a sore ankle and inflamed foot from the round of 16 onwards, he braved it out. He made the winning penalty kick against Italy in Naples. Then was robbed in the final. That was the beginning of the end.

Eff the hand of god goal. That other one where he weaved his way through every Pom on the field was alone worth 3 goals and more than made up for the Hand of god goal. I went many years as a youngster arguing vehemently (even though I knew reality in my head) that his hand never touched the ball. Watch the Belgium ones from the 1986 SF. Just unearthly stuff.

One thing I remember from the documentary was that he was Neapolitan more than he was Argentinian. He took an impoverished city that was looked down upon by everyone and won them championships. His biggest moments of glory came from those accomplishments. But he was bewildered when they started hating on him in 1990 when he led Argentina to a win against Italy in freakkin Napoli. He was also sucked into the Italian mafia and could never get out of their clutches. They launched his glory and plotted his downfall. One of the most complicated stories ever.

Damned double post

Damn. Damn. Damn. He was my absolute all-time favorite footballer, bar none. I was a teenager when he won the 1986 WC with his incomparable magic. He led the most complicated life of any athlete and battled all kinds of demons his whole life. I watched Asif Kapadia's documentary about his rise and fall from grace ... just stunningly sad. RIP, the greatest that ever was.

Does it have to be an effin contest? Celebrate both moments and smoke the peace pipe, y'all.

Evidently, on Dec 11, Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan will turn 98. That's remarkable, but not the point of this thread. That discussion led me think about why actors change their names. Why did Yusuf Khan not keep his original name? Dilip Kumar? Not even in the same ballpark. Same thing with Meena Kumari, Madhubala ... So why did/do Bollywood actors change their names?

That's a good point. While I was comparing deeds, I didn't think to compare the level of hero-worship of one vs the other.

And this is before holiday travel. Going to be a long winter.

Plus, 9 out of my T20 11 can legitimately bowl. The other 2 are w/ks :-).