End of an era

Very few sportspersons have dominated their respective fields with such panache and grace as Micheal Schumacher has. A few examples would be Sachin Tendulkar in cricket, Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey, Lance Armstrong in cycling. These stars did more than just winning, they became bigger than the game itself, symbolic of victory.

In a few hours from now, this indomitable sportsperson will race formula 1 for the last time in his life. It will be the end of the most illustrious career in Formula 1 history spanning 15 years, 7 championship titles, 91 race wins, 154 podium finishes, 75 fastest laps, 1364 championship points and many many more records. But Schumacher was more than a just a statistician's delight. With faster cars, better training facilities, better machines, many of these records will undoubtedly, be bettered in the years to come. But the contribution that Schumacher made to the game can neither be forgotten nor emulated by anyone.

Sao Paulo 2006 is beginning in an hour. Schumi trails by 10 points to Alonso. All Alonso needs to do to win his second title is to finish the race with at least a single point. It would take nothing short of a miracle to keep alive Schumi's chances of finishing his career on a winning note. And the problem with miracles is, they never happen when you want them to happen.

Goodbye Schumi...

WE WILL ALL MISS YOU VERY MUCH

P.S: I added this afterwards. Schumi didn't win the championship. He had terrible luck, an early blown out tyre led him to lose valuable time and the chance to win the title. The next generation of formula 1 has come. Kimi is driving for ferrari this time, lets see how they perform in 2007.