***Official*** Tendulkar vs Ponting Thread

[Jono]

I don't think he did. I think he mentioned it as an add-on, which is commonplace among champions who are known for their modest behaviour, good to fans, good to the media etc.

Not a big deal really.

 

[Shri]

Warne not a big deal really.

Yeah.

 

[Jono]

Praise from Warne/others in this particular period of his career. Whilst I agree with vcs that he is in great form and that is certainly one of the reasons for the praise. With Tendulkar there is a bit more of a bandwagon atmosphere around it.

Warne didn't really need to bring Lara into it and the behaviour thing is said so much it's become cliche and superfluous in many ways.

Oh please. Your signature has quotes that are just as superflous, including Lara calling Warne the greatest cricketer to ever pick up the ball and Botham calling Warne the greatest cricketer to ever lived.

You've got Gideon Haigh talking about how there will sooner be another Bradman than Warne, because of stuff irrelevant to the game of cricket... His flagrant over the top behaviour, which is what made Warne... Warne. His smoking, his blonde hair and his charisma etc.

Over the top writing from journalists or comments from fellow players are common among all champions. And they often include aspects of the player that are not relevant to his cricket.

 

[Ikki]

My signature is superfluous and it's a bit cheeky. But that's what it is...who is denying it?

Just think the Lara comparison was unnecessary TBF. Say Sachin is the greatest ever, but you don't need to make a direct comparison. And the off-field stuff is just so cliche it doesn't sound genuine anymore. I dunno, that's me. He just left out "he has the pressure of 1 billion hopes on his shoulders" or something for the trifecta.

 

[four_or_six]

I really don't think they do at all.

People mention it when they discuss his traits in articles and books, but that is commonplace among Federer too (which used to **** me since it'd be false, but that's another story) and Nadal.

Occurs in AFL too among some champion players who are modest. Judd is spoken about for his professionalism and classy behaviour a lot.

Assuming it happens in other sports I don't follow as well.

Nadal > Sachin.

 

[honestbharani]

Are you talking about praise from Warne or praise for Sachin in general?

I don't see why people praising Sachin on having his greatest year ever in his 21st year of cricket should be an issue. In fact, it's perfectly fine. Unless of course you don't like the fact he's scoring lots of runs

To be honest, all this is exaggerated because he is Indian and there are some fans of his who just can't stand a single thing said about him, even in jest. We have evidence of the like in the tour thread in CW itself... The thing is, even Ponting was raised to some amazing heights by his fans during his purple patch.. I guess it just comes down to the difference between # of Aussies and # of Indians realy... Heck, even in CW there were a NUMBER of Aussie fans who just could not stop gushing about Ponting at his peak and comparing him to Bradman and all that... The only really annoying thing about Sachin's fans is that inspite of a number of level headed fans of his, there is always the 1 or 2 that stick out, who just can't accept a single criticism of their man.. Fair enough if you think he is the greatest or second greatest batsman ever but just don't spoil the place claiming it is some kind of absurdity to even hold the other view.


Now before I get flagged off, I do accept that all this has come down a LOT in CW... And honestly, to an extent, you expect such things to happen coz he conducts himself amazingly well at least in the public domain and it is just the in thing to be his fan really.. And this last point is NOT about CW, just public domain in general... And honestly, he is batting like a God this year.. So to an extent, you just have to accept he deserves this.. There is always over the top praise for most players when they are in their purple patch.. It is just that it seems to be a bit too high for Sachin as there are so many Indians around..

 

[Jono]

My signature is superfluous and it's a bit cheeky. But that's what it is...who is denying it?

But you're only up in arms and getting tired of it when such comments are aimed at Sachin, and you keep discarding anything Warne says about Sachin being great... yet I very much doubt you'd do the same when 'superflous' comments by writers or fellow players are made at players you like, and want to do well.

 

[Jono]

To be honest, all this is exaggerated because he is Indian and there are some fans of his who just can't stand a single thing said about him, even in jest. We have evidence of the like in the tour thread in CW itself... The thing is, even Ponting was raised to some amazing heights by his fans during his purple patch.. I guess it just comes down to the difference between # of Aussies and # of Indians realy... Heck, even in CW there were a NUMBER of Aussie fans who just could not stop gushing about Ponting at his peak and comparing him to Bradman and all that... The only really annoying thing about Sachin's fans is that inspite of a number of level headed fans of his, there is always the 1 or 2 that stick out, who just can't accept a single criticism of their man.. Fair enough if you think he is the greatest or second greatest batsman ever but just don't spoil the place claiming it is some kind of absurdity to even hold the other view.


Now before I get flagged off, I do accept that all this has come down a LOT in CW... And honestly, to an extent, you expect such things to happen coz he conducts himself amazingly well at least in the public domain and it is just the in thing to be his fan really.. And this last point is NOT about CW, just public domain in general... And honestly, he is batting like a God this year.. So to an extent, you just have to accept he deserves this.. There is always over the top praise for most players when they are in their purple patch.. It is just that it seems to be a bit too high for Sachin as there are so many Indians around..

Key point which you're missing is we're talking about fellow players and cricket journalists.

So the fans are irrelevant in this argument.

 

[Jono]

Nadal > Sachin.

Haha even though you're kidding, I do agree with that. Nadal has a chance (not saying he will) of being the greatest of all time in the next 3-4 years, whereas it's impossible for Sachin to ever reach that mark in cricket.

 

[Prince EWS]

I know I'm in a minority (probably of one ) but I actually find the fact that he's always referred to by his first name as if people know him personally to be far more annoying than any praise of his ridiculously awesome batting. It doesn't bother me when people are celebrating in a tour thread (eg. YES!! SACHIN!! What an innings!") because that's supposed to be fan-ish, but when people are trying to make a serious point about him or compare him to someone else and they just call him Sachin, it puts me off a bit.

As I said, I doubt anyone else has this problem; just thought I'd put it out there.

 

[Jono]

**** Prince, I was loving your posting today and you drop that on me.

 

[honestbharani]

Key point which you're missing is we're talking about fellow players and cricket journalists.

So the fans are irrelevant in this argument.

Well, I meant to talk about Ikki's impression, which I am pretty sure, was not formed from former players' comments alone...

 

[honestbharani]

I know I'm in a minority (probably of one ) but I actually find the fact that he's always referred to by his first name as if people know him personally to be far more annoying than any praise of his ridiculously awesome batting. It doesn't bother me when people are celebrating in a tour thread (eg. YES!! SACHIN!! What an innings!") because that's supposed to be fan-ish, but when people are trying to make a serious point about him or compare him to someone else and they just call him Sachin, it puts me off a bit.

As I said, I doubt anyone else has this problem; just thought I'd put it out there.

Easier to type, FTW..

 

[Prince EWS]

**** Prince, I was loving your posting today and you drop that on me.

Haha, I know it's a bit weird. I don't even really know why it bothers me. FTR he's actually my favourite batsman of the three who so often get compared here (Ponting, Lara and Tendulkar) and I think he's the best of the lot too so it's not like I dislike it on some sort of bitter biased level; it's just an inconsistency with how other players are referred to I suppose. I don't like inconsistency.

 

[GotSpin]

Sachin is a pretty awesome name though.

 

[honestbharani]

well.. Lara is easier to type too..

 

[Prince EWS]

Easier to type, FTW..

Haha, fair call. "Viv" annoys me too; I guess that's the same deal especially since Barry exists. Ricky is easier to type than Ponting though and I don't see too many people call him Ricky. It's such a dire thing to bring up though so I'll just leave it.

Tendulkar gets my vote in the thread FWIW.

 

[Ikki]

But you're only up in arms and getting tired of it when such comments are aimed at Sachin, and you keep discarding anything Warne says about Sachin being great... yet I very much doubt you'd do the same when 'superflous' comments by writers or fellow players are made at players you like, and want to do well.

I added:

Just think the Lara comparison was unnecessary TBF. Say Sachin is the greatest ever, but you don't need to make a direct comparison. And the off-field stuff is just so cliche it doesn't sound genuine anymore. I dunno, that's me. He just left out "he has the pressure of 1 billion hopes on his shoulders" or something for the trifecta.

Personally, I wouldn't care if Warne was praised like that. As a fan, I'd like him getting recognition, as I am sure you enjoy Sachin receiving the same. At the same time, I won't pretend it won't/shouldn't grate on other people.

----

All that aside, I generally like hearing more about Warne (or any player I like) more outside their peak or in retrospect. Because those people usually have the right kind of appreciation; enough so to remember and elaborate - rather than the bandwagon appreciation which I mentioned earlier.

Also, you seem to think it upsets me when Tendulkar scores runs. Honestly, it doesn't. I don't find him exciting to watch and I think he is a tad overrated (although his recent resurgence has impressed me a lot) but other than that I am pretty "meh" about him. His fans though...christ.

 

[Jono]

Well, I meant to talk about Ikki's impression, which I am pretty sure, was not formed from former players' comments alone...

That's what makes it so hypocritical.

The praise Warne got during his career, and some of the over the top stuff said about him, was immense. But no one batted an eye lid.

The same is being done for Sachin, but because there are some annoying posters on CW who get defensive over Sachin, suddenly if a cricket player says Sachin is better than Lara, or speaks about how he's been so well behaved for 21+ years, its superlous and over the top.

Don't have to be a genius to see the ridiculousness of this.

If you are a cricket fan who cannot separate a few people on CricketWeb from how you judge a player, than you've got issues and it is hard to have a proper debate about the merits of a cricketer with you. Because you're inherently prejudice against the player because he has fans that annoy you.

 

[G.I.Joe]

I know I'm in a minority (probably of one ) but I actually find the fact that he's always referred to by his first name as if people know him personally to be far more annoying than any praise of his ridiculously awesome batting. It doesn't bother me when people are celebrating in a tour thread (eg. YES!! SACHIN!! What an innings!") because that's supposed to be fan-ish, but when people are trying to make a serious point about him or compare him to someone else and they just call him Sachin, it puts me off a bit.

As I said, I doubt anyone else has this problem; just thought I'd put it out there.

Blame 20-something fangirls in the 90's, tbh. Apparently they thought the curly haired teenager was so cute that he deserved to be referred to by his first name. I'm sure there's a Freudian foundation to this, but I cbf looking.