My First Win

I haven’t seen my teams win very much. Sure, I’ve watched my Oakland A’s advance to the playoffs and, one glorious time, to the American League Championship Series, and I’ve watched my California Golden Bears upset USC and win some minor bowl games. But I still have yet to see my favorite team – in any sport – be crowned champion. That is, until October 21^st.

 

The weekend of the 21^st hadn’t gone well for me. On Friday night, I was led on by the promise of In-n-Out burger, only to get lost somewhere near Pinole. And on Saturday Cal lost to UCLA – their second loss in a row, after their narrow loss to Oregon State . To add insult to injury, my favorite Formula 1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen, qualified third for the Brazilian Grand Prix – the final race of the season, which he needed to win for a chance at the 2007 title.

 

Then came Sunday. I set my alarm for the un-Godly hour of 8:30 in the morning so that I could see the Brazil race. Two hours later, I was cheering my head off and celebrating not only Kimi Raikkonen’s first championship, but the first time I had seen one of my teams win the top title.

 

Formula 1 fans will know that, as a Ferrari fan, I should know a lot about winning at the top level. From 2000 to 2004, Michael Schumacher cruised to victory for the Ferrari team, an era of domination the sport had never seen before. But I haven’t been watching F1 that long. I only began my obsession with it in 2006, when Schumacher and Ferrari narrowly lost to Fernando Alonso and his Renault team, the second straight year that the Spaniard won.

 

So in the final laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen leading and his rivals far behind, I was more nervous than I had ever been about a sporting event. I knew that in order for Kimi to win the title and complete his amazing comeback this season, he needed something he’d never had – luck. Raikkonen not only had to win, but rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had to finish far enough behind (3^rd and 7^th, respectively) for Kimi to win the championship. And that’s just what happened.

 

So when Kimi took the lead as the laps wound down, I could feel the first win coming. And when Raikkonen crossed the line to win his first championship, I am not ashamed to admit that I went crazy. I clapped, cheered, shouted, and sang along to the Finnish national anthem (a tune I thought I didn’t know). All of this for a motor race happening a continent away. But it was my first championship, so I feel my actions were justified – you can’t hold a fan to how he reacts when his team wins at the highest level. So, congratulations and thanks to Kimi Raikkonen, 2007 Driver’s Champion, and Scuderia Ferrari, 2007 Constructor’s Champions.

Alonso is a Whiner

I know it’s a bit late, but I have to say something about Fernando Alonso. As you might be able to tell from my blog picture, I’m a fan of the Ferrari team (Kimi and Felipe are my two favorite drivers). But despite my now admitted bias against the double-world champion, something has again been made very clear: he’s the biggest sore loser ever!

Any time things don’t go well for him, Alonso says something or someone is against him. When Schumacher was creeping back up in the points late in 2006, he implied that some of his mechanics were conspiring against him, so that he wouldn’t take the number one title with him when he left for McLaren. Now, when he drives to third in the 2007 Grand Prix of Spain, his home race, he criticizes Felipe Massa for being too “aggressive” and “risky.”

If you haven’t seen it, check out footage from YouTube.

Here’s what Fernando had to say at the post-race press conference: “I went on the outside, I braked later and I think I was much in front of him in the first corner, but unfortunately he didn’t think so and we touched each other. We were lucky to both finish the race because in 99 percent of these type of incidents, both cars will finish (their race) at the first corner. Sometimes I think this type of thing is very dangerous.”

Yes, Alonso was in front when he passed on the outside, but what was Felipe supposed to do – let him pass? From Massa’s onboard, we can see that he’s right on the inside curbs of the corner, and any more turning to avoid hitting Alonso would’ve put him off the track. Plus, right after that right-hander is a left turn to complete it. Was Massa just going to have to drive into the grass on the next corner?

This is racing, Fernando. You’re supposed to be aggressive. That’s the problem with F1 – drivers like Alonso who are too afraid to be aggressive and make the Grand Prix into parades. To complain that a race driver is being too aggressive is like a goalie saying, “They’re kicking the ball too hard!”

Come on, Fernando. You made it to the top because of your driving ability. On almost all of the F1 drivers I can’t stand – Prost, Schumacher, and Alonso especially – I can never doubt their great abilities as drivers. With Prost, even though he was Senna’s archrival, he was an amazing driver to watch. Schumacher was one of the most blatant cheaters I’ve ever seen, but at Brazil 2006 I stood in awe of his amazing driving ability. And no one can doubt that Fernando is an amazing talent. But to point fingers in every direction except your own is not the mark of a champion.

Alonso made a risky move and got burned (and no, that’s not a pun talking about Felipe’s pit stop at 3:33). He’s got to be enough of a driver to say, “I went for a tough pass and I didn’t make it. I can’t blame Felipe for just trying to defend the lead – I made a mistake.” But hey, this is Alonso. He’d blame everyone at the track before he’d admit to a mistake. Oh, and FORZA FERRARI!! [For the record, drivers I hate that suck: Jaques Villeneuve – although his father is one of the greatest drivers who ever lived – and Juan Pablo Montoya.]