The boy from Neverland
26-Oct-2013
Tendulkar: part of a million childhoods • Getty Images
What has your relationship with Sachin Tendulkar been like? Did you start playing cricket just as he broke into the national team? Did his failures hurt you like your own would? How did you feel when watching him play? Many great players touch the lives of fans in special ways, but Tendulkar surpasses them in the number of fans he was able to convert. ESPNcricinfo reader Rajan Thambehalli writes about the instant connection he felt with a young Tendulkar and how the bond grew stronger. He writes in the Inbox:
Outside of my family, Tendulkar has been a constant throughout my life and now that connection is on its way to breaking. He gave me immense joy, and occasionally the source of my tears. He made me go mad. He frustrated and inspired me. He made me a thinker, made me a believer and even gave me the confidence to go after my dreams.
Who is Tendulkar? God? No. Demi-god? No. Superhuman with magical powers? No. An ordinary human beingwith extreme talent. Not quite. To me he is a kid who managed to extend his childhood beyond its definition....
My association with cricket started with Tendulkar and with his retirement, a big chunk of my childhood is lost. That void will be replaced by my memories of him as I move on with life, remembering the times when I did everything I could to just watch Tendulkar play.