Legends of the Fall

People who have been very close to me, know me as a sports fanatic; may it be Cricket, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Motorsports, Badminton, and for that matter any sport that is telecast on TV - I follow it with utmost vigor. Doesn't mean that I do not play anything at all; I used to play basketball regularly during college, and as an average Indian - I do play Cricket in its purest - tennis ball cricket (but at times the real one as well)

Hence as a tribute to some of the sportsmen, just wanted to list down a few legends I have closely followed in the last 20 years:

1. Michael Jordan - My icon, my inspiration to take basketball seriously as a sport when I was in college and would stay very close to my heart for his all-round ability on the court
2. Sachin Tendulkar - Modesty is the man's middle name, and that is what I admire from this little master more than his batting skills, attitude, commitment, so on and so forth
3. Michael Schumacher - The man who redefined Formula 1 (in the current era), and who has several records to his name which are pretty tough to rewrite
4. Pete Sampras - His actions speak louder than his words, as I have never seen him utter a word on the Tennis court
5. Lance Armstrong - When you are already in your 30s; suffering from testicular cancer, and the world has written you off - to bounce back and win 6 back-to-back is no easy job
6. Yelena Isinbayeva - The lady does not get bored breaking her own records in pole vault for the last 5 years or so
7. Michael Phelps - The man burns 12,000 calories a day practicing in the pool, which has earned him 14 Olympic Gold medals so far (and counting)
8. MS Dhoni - Captain Courageous, as we call him - has developed day after day, in his demeanor
9. Tiger Woods - The Accenture ad says it all, I need not articulate much
10. Roger Federer - The king of grass, only after Petey... The Swiss ace has definitely etched his name not just in my memory, but also in Tennis history

I'm sure that this list will evolve, but these sportsgreat are my "top of the mind" picks (rather "Close to the heart" picks)