Commandment #XI : Never doubt the KING

Genibus Nitito Canus (Latin for "On your knees dog")

I am a self-confessed cynical (and heavily biased) sports freak. I doubt the ability of teams/individuals even when they are on the top of their game , even going to the extent of scoffing at their success, dismissing them as "fluke".
But on the flipside, in spite of my humongous polarity, I am in the habit of doubting teams/individuals I root for.
Welcome to MY world.
I was an avid cricket fan from 1996-2005. After a gap of more than a year , I have restarted to follow the game -tho' not with the same vigour-from December 2006..........
1996-I was 13 then. In the Indian context, it is pretty late in your cricketing fan "career".Cricket seemed a preety complicated game to me and I didn't really understand why a 100/0 was worse off than a 255 all out in a 50 over game. After all you hadn't lost wickets and hence you should deserve credit for your tight defence. A 1-0 win fetches you 3 points in football , so does a 5-2. In the former you are rewarded for your defensive credibility, in the latter for your attacking forays.Simple.Cricket wasn't so simple I felt.....
So it was, the summer of '96 and a lad who was an alumnus of my school -and had even captained our football team to its last glory in school football- had made the Indian test side.Yeah, that bloke made a century on His debut at Lord's and followed it up with another at Trentbridge.Returning from England, He even visited our school. And for the first time, I saw Sourav Ganguly LIVE....
Sourav Ganguly is the reason I watched cricket. Sourav Ganguly is the reason I shunned cricket. Sourav Ganguly is the reason why I have restarted to follow cricket.
But I am selfish. And I will not tell you tales WHY I have such unflinching support for the special one , -who in MY world is the GREATEST Indian cricketer of ALL TIME-lest you derive inspiration of monstrous measures from them.
What I will share tho', is that I doubted my Hero too!!! And I have been proved wrong. I have enjoyed every moment of it.
I doubted whether He would at all return to the side. I doubted whether all the effort He was putting in by playing in the vacant stadiums at Cuttack, Guwahati and Dhanbad would ultimately bear fruit. Why wasn't He retiring with self esteem intact? In my book, in the Dravid-Chappell era, Sourav Ganguly was history...Yet, He returned .
Green tops and short pitched stuff awaited the prince of Indian cricket in South Africa.I doubted whether He would at all retain His place in the side after the series.Was it a master plan to finish off His career once and for all, I mused....Yet, He emerged strongest: the team's highest scorer.
Back to back ODI series in India. Ganguly was included. I hoped that that He made a couple of those flashy 30s, which had become His trademark in the latter part of His captaincy stint and thus hang on to His place.....He scored 98 in the first match itself and emerged the most consistent performer. And going in to the World Cup, He was the Man of the Series vs Lanka.
Sourav has since been a regular in the side, often cracking memorable knocks.It has been a treat to watch our Bengal Tiger regain His territory in the cricketing jungle..... I salute the Prince.
But a couple of niggles still remained....
I saw Sourav Ganguly's career ending sans a century at the Mecca of Indian cricket- His Eden...And, He proved me wrong. On the first day of the last month of a year that marked His cricketing rebirth, Sourav Ganguly registered a century at the Eden.
He confessed that it was a burden off His shoulder and watching Wasim Jaffer score a double from the other end, confessed His desire to break the 200 barrier...
Sourav Ganguly, one of my friends had casually remarked, would never be able to score big in Test cricket 'cause His concentration lasts for 90 minutes :-) . I believed in the same too.....
As I write this, barely a couple of hours ago, Mr Ganguly has registered His first double hundred of His glittering career.....I salute the King.

I will remain a cynic. I will remain a biased sports fan. But, as of today, I vow never to doubt the credibility of the man who has been something more than an inspiration for me.....I have knelt, Your majesty.