Off Topic SPORTING HEROES

For me it is also mainly Spurs players. Some unusual, I remember being a big fan of Chris Jones, John Duncan and Neil McNab from the late 70's/early 80s. Hoddle was my (and every other Spurs fan of my generation) absolute hero - if only he'd stayed a few more years and played with Gazza. Of course Mr Spurs Steve Perryman also gets a mention. Non Spurs, I always liked the skilful maverick types like Bowles as mentioned many times, but Frank Worthington, Alan Hudson, Duncan McKenzie. There was a rumour in my family that we were distantly related to Peter Lorimer (not sure if it's true) so I always followed his career. My favourite non Spurs footballer was Trevor Brooking - elegance personified.
Non football I would include John Lloyd from Tennis - one handed backhand was a thing of beauty. I loved following our Davis Cup journey to the final (even giving very grudging support to Buster Mottram - may god forgive me) in 1978. And then getting blown away by McEnroe. Also in Tennis used to like the extravagant players like Leconte, Nastase, Noah. Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo in Golf, although no one compared to Seve, pure genius in golfing terms. In recent years have enjoyed cycling (of all things) Wiggins, Froome on the road, Wiggins, Hoy, Kenny on the track.
Huge fan of Steve Ovett. Remember seeing him beat Henry Rono the WR holder for 5000m over 3000m. What a race. Would have been a sensational racer over several distances if he could have stayed healthy.

 

ZVONIMIR BOBAN
Not only a fine player but a nationalal icon and a symbol of Croatian independence because of what he did in the moment when riot police were not only allowing Red Star hooligans to trash Dinamo Zagreb's stadium but being baton-happy on Dinamo's fans: go in on the riot squad with a flying kick.

HAKU
Chuck Norris facts are an internet meme. Haku's badassery actually happened. You have to respect that...just in case he finds out that you haven't and beats you to death with your own toes.

ANDREA PIRLO
A player so sublime that he looks like he exists on another plane of existence, calmly and cooly picking out teammates with all manner of passes he has no right to be making, yet he makes it look effortless. On top of that his outlook and intelligence when he speaks exposes the Joey "WikiQuote" Bartons of the world with the same style and skill that he has on the pitch.

MIYAMOTO MUSASHI
There's tough, and then there's winning an estimated sixty duels against other samurai brandishing nothing but a wooden sword.

 

Chris Froome.
Stunning achievement.
Nice guy.
I'm sure he's clean. I hope. I used to like Lance Armstrong

 

Yes. About time he won SPOTY.

 

Anyone mentioned David Bedford yet??
Remember trips to Crystal Palace track to watch him - totally unconventional, anti-authority (at the time!!) and made wearing ordinary black socks with running shoes acceptable

 

Andy Sudduth. Won a silver medal in rowing in the eights and was the US single sculler in the following Olympics. He was also the first person to issue a warning about an internet virus.

He died at 44. He taught me how to turn a fork and spoon into a catapult in the freshman union after practice one night, shortly before getting kicked out of school for a year for using a lighter and an aerosol can to create a small flamethrower. One Saturday in February 38 years ago it was as warm as early summer, and he and I went down to the boathouse with six other guys from the team to see if we could take a boat out. For some reason I remember how far the fork flew and how enthusiastic we were about trying to get in an extra training session on an incredibly warm winter day better than I remember his rowing, which is strange as I spent a long time watching him stroke. Sweet bird of youth.

 

1980! That season Middlesex assembled the finest county cricket team ever, winning the Championship and Gillette Cup!

 

Elegance personified!
Great pick!

 

Athletics: Carl Lewis, Allyson Felix and the great Kip Keino.
Boxing: Sugar Ray Leonard
Horse Racing: Lester Piggott and the horse, Alleged (dual Arc de Triomphe)
Football: Pele
Cricket: Imran Khan, Des Haynes, Murali
Rugby Union: The entire NZ World Cup winning team of 2015 en bloc. Going back in history, Barry John
Rugby League: Ellery Hanley, who could turn on a sixpence.
Tennis: Federer and Serena Williams.
Diving: The Chinese. Their technique is fabulous!!

 

See also: Gurning

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That's what a lack of fruit and vegetables in your diet can result in. A sweetcorn and prune salad should help sort that out.

 

Greavesie got in there in error - great as he was, he was never a hero of mine - and never elegant, either!

OK - so my heroes.
Cricket first.
Tom Graveney, of course (my first bat was autographed by him - I saved up my pocket money for months to buy it - age 13/14, I think. And I saw him at Lord's that year in a partnership with Godfrey Evans*, who was robbed by a stingy umpire of a century before lunch (he'd got 98, and the ump took the bails off with a minute to go before lunchtime!) TWG's cover drive was a thing of beauty (matched only by a through-ball from Hoddle!). He got 73. In those days, of course, even fast bowlers managed a rate of 20 overs per hour! Vinoo Mankad, having top-scored in India's first innings with 72, was bowling nearly all day (73 overs, 5 for 196), then came in to bat and (I think) was nearing 100 before close of play, went on to get 184 - what a player! That's what I call a real all-rounder! And I have a souvenir bench from the old Mound Stand - I like to think it was the one I sat on! Wally Hammond and Tom Goddard and David Allen (saw his debut) and Bomber Wells and John Mortimore and Jack Russell and Sam Cook and Arthur Millton (guess which county I support?) and Jim Laker and John Emburey* (I like off-spinners!) and Denis Compton (so did he!) and Derek Underwood and Keith Miller and Gary Sobers and Viv Richards* and Brian Lara and Fred Trueman and Alec Bedser* and Trevor Bailey* and Jon Lewis*.

Footie next.
Ted Ditchburn and Alf Ramsey (my Subbuteo Spurs no 2 lost his head at some stage - unlike the real one, who never did!) and especially Danny Blanchflower and Glenn Hoddle. Alfie Conn and Micky Hazard and Graham Roberts. Mike England and Jermain Defoe and Pat Jennings and Tony Galvin. Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh and Johnny Haynes and Phil Beal and Cyril Knowles and Eddie Bailly and Benny Assou-Ekotto and Martin Chivers and Alan Gilzean and that Archibald chappie and and and and... ! Oh - and Wealdstone FC in the forties and fifties! (eg Danny Wiltshire, Tommy McGhee, Phil White, Viv Evans). Oh, enough!

Other stuff.
Sidney Wooderson. Bruce Woodcock. Freddie Mills. Emil Zatopek. Roger Bannister. Chris Chataway (until he took up politics!). Macdonald Bailey (until he took up Rugby League!) and Jaroslav Drobny............

* Asterisks mean I met them!

Heroes, eh? Can't really ever have enough of them! (I've just run out of time now.) [Sighs of relief all across the internet?]
[And a final hero award to anyone who bothered to read right through that lot to the end.]

 

You met Viv Richards?
Cool.
You picked Fred Trueman. I should bloody hope so. The finest fast bowler that ever drew breath lad. If he was still around, he'd be dissing Anderson right now. "500 wickets? If I'd played that many Tests, against that bloody lot, I'd have a 1,000 lad."