Now will never be again

It's been a day of very striking contrasts in world sport, as I see it. On one hand, I saw Adam Gilchrist play what will most likely be his final test innings. On the other, we had a Grand Slam champion not named Federer or Nadal for the first time in three years. Gilchrist has been one of my must watch cricketers for many years now. Ever since I've had some intelligent outlook on the game, I've marvelled at the way he played his cricket: full of enthusiasm, energy, and a never-say-die spirit. I've been held speechless by the number of highlight reels he has generated over the years, and most of all, he embodied everything that was great, and could possibly be great about a sport and the men who play it.

His clean hitting (sample this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPOOhFmUprA), his athletic catching (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3st72UDKIk) and his down-to-earth personality made him a stand-out cricketer in the era of increased policing of the game, brought about by many ugly incidents which will probably be talked about in the decades to come. It's true that in the heat of the moment, people have always, and will always, do things that are over the top. But in the last few years, with the explosion of live telecasts and sites like youtube, the amount of public reaction and expert analysis has gone through the roof. A player like Gilchrist has, though, invariably made the news for all the right reasons.

His style of play was such that I never associated him with his age. He played very unlike any other 36-year old sportsman I've ever seen, and that only made the news even harder to digest. I watched him play his last innings today, and as he departed after making a quickfire 14 off 18, it suddenly struck me that these moments will only come faster as days pass. I don't know about you, but for me, the end of the career of one of my boyhood heroes punctuated the inevitability of the passing of time. Feeling a certain age is not just about how old I am, the feeling of age is in fact the sensation of living in a certain period of time, with the same rules, the same pastimes, the same dreams and the same priorities. When I will look back at this time in my life, I was always going to bed at 4 am, Federer was always weaving his magic on the court, we were always talking about how drunk we were last night, every second guy was falling for some girl and in the same way, Gilly was always murdering bowling attacks around the world.

This feeling has been around for a few months now, with many of my friends graduating from grad school, a few people getting married and engaged, some people into their second jobs, some others on the way to owning big companies and one really talented, determined fellow is even about to release his first music album! Me and my friends laugh and crib about how such people have destabilised our notions of youth and the irresponsible, impulsive selves that we've chosen to identify ourselves for a long, long time.

Strangely, even as Djokovic won the Aus Open tonight, there was no real thrill at seeing him do it. I still feel much more moist-eyed when one of the old-timers does something really good. I still remember how I was in seventh heaven when Goran Ivanisevic finally won Wimbledon in 2001. That's nearly the only time I've been moved to tears while watching a match, and I don't think there's another man who deserved those tears any more than he did. That was the accomplishment of a titan of my generation, a man whom I idolised while growing up, a man for whose success I actually prayed. The flip side is, of course, that if you've supported Ivanisevic for a decade, like I did, it's very hard to get put off even when the guy you are rooting for loses :)


Take a good look around you folks, and even if you think that it isn't a whole heap of fun right now, it's the only time you'll be living through these moments. I'll never be 23 years, 5 months and 26 days old again, and I'm glad I get the chance to experience instants like these, even though the emotions don't last forever!