Sachin meets Saraswathi, his oldest fan

[The Dark Horse]

. “You are short in stature' date=' but very big in deeds,†she said. Tendulkar smiled, once again.[/quote'] indeed!

[flamy]

[dragonfly]

what A FAN!! will ROTATE AGAIN!!!

[Ram]

Trust Madras to come up with THE most passionate of cricket junkies. :--D And btw, in this age of phone marriages, followed by threats, extortions and then followed by a bizarre engagement to a tennis star from across the border, how refreshing and so unbelievable is this? These days, we are more accustomed to celebrities going across town to meet their secret partners, but Sach, as always, is a class apart. As much as this term might sound oxymoronic, he is a true model celeb. :hatsoff:

[Mr. Wicket]

And for patriot, Dhondy et al - this is why people revere Tendulkar so much and lionize him in a way that the likes of Lara and Ponting will never know. Not just because he is a fantastic batsman, but because he combines incredible talent and achievement with this level of humility and respect. You have the Pontings of the world who try and act holier than thou on the field, pick fights with opponents (or in bars) and are little else beyond great batsmen... you have the Yuvrajs who aren't even great batsmen but just crave the limelight and flash of the media, and then you have this man several planes apart - a role model who in spite of all the adulation and praise he gets from fans and media still remains this humble and classy.

[patriot]

And for patriot, Dhondy et al - this is why people revere Tendulkar so much and lionize him in a way that the likes of Lara and Ponting will never know. Not just because he is a fantastic batsman, but because he combines incredible talent and achievement with this level of humility and respect. You have the Pontings of the world who try and act holier than thou on the field, pick fights with opponents (or in bars) and are little else beyond great batsmen... you have the Yuvrajs who aren't even great batsmen but just crave the limelight and flash of the media, and then you have this man several planes apart - a role model who in spite of all the adulation and praise he gets from fans and media still remains this humble and classy.

Salil, It is a heart touching story. And I am sure there are thousands of such regarding Sachin. No one can deny his ultra humble demeanors, grace and just the general likeability about him. A model father, son and husband- a great family man. He is simply amazing with regards to these things. No sportsman ever who has reached comparable heights in his respective field has had a clean slate like Tendulkar as far as off the field life is concerned. He is an outstanding batsman, one of the finest ever and certainly the most enduring. But in my opinion most people's judgement of Sachin purely as a player is effected because of his great persona, grace and heart touching humility and the fact that he is an ideal family man. The fact that he has been in the game for over 20 years and has so many records adds to that. 99 % of the uncle - aunty - dada -dadi fans just know he holds many records, has scored many tons and has a great family. I started following cricket in the late 90's , when he was at his mercurial best. So, i have seen his best and his worst like most fans here. But I seized to be the kind of fanboy that majority ICFers are after what I felt a career where the run flow did not stop the centuries too flowed but he let down India almost chronically when it mattered most at the most crucial moments. His less popular (but great never the less ) rivals for the top spot, not as prolific became demons almost always when it mattered most, their killer instinct , ruthless winning streak during those crucial moments of the match and temperament in utter adversity as well as the BIG games far far more than the more prolific Sachin. I don't want to engage in any endless statistical argy bargy to prove anything, it is just my observation out of having followed cricket so passionately and intensely. I don't think I am the only one who thinks this way. There are half a dozen very intelligent and observant folks on this board itself who think alike. Back to OP - what a great fan, that dadi jee is.

[teacup]

Salil, It is a heart touching story. And I am sure there are thousands of such regarding Sachin. No one can deny his ultra humble demeanors, grace and just the general likeability about him. A model father, son and husband- a great family man. He is simply amazing with regards to these things. No sportsman ever who has reached comparable heights in his respective field has had a clean slate like Tendulkar as far as off the field life is concerned. He is an outstanding batsman, one of the finest ever and certainly the most enduring. But in my opinion most people's judgement of Sachin purely as a player is effected because of his great persona, grace and heart touching humility and the fact that he is an ideal family man. The fact that he has been in the game for over 20 years and has so many records adds to that. 99 % of the uncle - aunty - dada -dadi fans just know he holds many records, has scored many tons and has a great family. I started following cricket in the late 90's , when he was at his mercurial best. So, i have seen his best and his worst like most fans here. But I seized to be the kind of fanboy that majority ICFers are after what I felt a career where the run flow did not stop the centuries too flowed but he let down India almost chronically when it mattered most at the most crucial moments. His less popular (but great never the less ) rivals for the top spot, not as prolific became demons almost always when it mattered most, their killer instinct , ruthless winning streak during those crucial moments of the match and temperament in utter adversity as well as the BIG games far far more than the more prolific Sachin. I don't want to engage in any endless statistical argy bargy to prove anything, it is just my observation out of having followed cricket so passionately and intensely. I don't think I am the only one who thinks this way. There are half a dozen very intelligent and observant folks on this board itself who think alike. Back to OP - what a great fan, that dadi jee is.

That explains quite a bit about your perception on him.