Of Champions and the not so good times...

Everything that goes up comes down. Higher the rise, harder is the fall. Thud! The best are reduced to just being average. Either because a new emperor arrives, or because history blinds you with a feeling that you have reached where no one else has. Or because afterall, champions are just as human as everybody else.

So when a certain tennis champion having ruled for years finds himself relegated to being second best, it hurts. Tears flow down uncontrollably. Change of guard isnt as smooth. This isnt the Bush-Obama transition. The new emperor looks set to blow away all competition, if any is left. Its not an overnight phenomenon. The new emperor worked his way to where he finds himself today. His time has come.

And then we have another 23 year old swimming great immortalized in the olympics history. Anything that he touched turned into gold. His is the example to follow. Eat sleep swim. And then probably in your off time, you can allow yourself some lee way. Well, not really. The whole world is watching. The prying eyes will punish you for doing what might be normal for a 23 year old. You might have crossed the line a bit too much this time. With great adulation, comes even greater responsibility. The responsibility of being a role model.

"You either die as a hero. Or live long enough to see yourself become the villain". ( - The Dark Knight) I now understand what this sentence means.