RIP Maradona
Larger than larger-than-life, saint, scoundrel, taker of breaths, breaker of hearts, boggler of minds, shaker of heads, bringer of smiles, heaver of sighs, taker of breaths…all the astonishing highs and devastating lows that life has to offer all rolled up into one blinding, charismatic package.
Remember, *all* those years ago? All I heard was Baba go on and on about #PaoloRossi this and Paolo Rossi that. But something else was brewing in #Mexico86, something entirely magical(like that t-shirt that magically showed up with the green chap in the sombrero leaning on the football, man, did I *love* that shirt!) was brewing. We had one of those old-fashioned antennas, on a 10(15? 20? it's all larger-than-life at that age)-foot pole that you used this giant dial to slowly turn(no really, I once ran outside and that d*mn thing was physically turning!) to try and get such faraway exotic channels like Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, Muscat even! And, for whatever magical reason(science?), it worked better with humidity, so the summers were full of all kinds of amazing TV(g*d forbid we ventured outside), and so there we were, with this amazing setup: the "big" TV (all of 22"!) giving us the English-language commentary(but no picture), and the *small* TV (11", the same size as an iPad!) giving us the local picture(but no commentary), the entire family huddled around, watching this genius astonish us with his moves! What an unforgettable experience!
The familiar triumph-tribulation 1-2 punch followed: Hand of G*d, Goal of the Century, #Napoli, Italy 90, the magical goal against Greece in USA 94, followed by…well, you know…
That time I was on the bus in #Calcutta with Atul and his big-mouthed pal who started prattling on about how overrated he was, and then the friendly gentleman stopping the bus in the middle of Park Street and helpfully telling us to get off right now otherwise we were gonna get thrashed to within an inch of our lives. Arguing football with #Bengalis is a life-or-death proposition!
Speaking of which, I hope, ahem, soccer, takes root in the US, but I fear it's just not in the blood, #ESPN had wall-to-wall coverage of *college* basketball exos, but barely a mention of one of *the* greatest athletes of all time.
Was he *the* greatest? I think so, but every generation has theirs, no? What he undoubtedly is, was(sigh…), a reminder of our eternal youth where we all huddled around a magic tube that beamed in images from half a world away where a genius enthralled the world and made believers of us all.
Magic, that's what he…was(sigh…)
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#RIP #DiegoMaradona #football #soccer #futbol #genius #Argentina #Argentine #champ #legend
#Diego #D10S #HandOfGod
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El Pibe De Oro
The Golden Boy
World Cup
Goal Of The Century
Serie A
UEFA Cup
Golden Ball
Silver Shoe
FIFA
Ballon D'Or
Golden Foot
Barcelona
BocaJuniors
Sevilla
Argentinos Juniors
Newell's Old Boys
Coppa Italia
Copa Del Rey
Copa De La Liga
European Cup
Diego Armando Maradona
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