Do you believe in bad luck? Are you superstitious? A lot of people for religious reasons or just to prove, at least to themselves, that they can make their own destiny, will consider the concept as an ignorant or irrational mindset. On the other end, if I rephrase the question as “do you believe in luck?” the same people would probably admit that they have directly or indirectly experienced it. Beside the obvious luck in gambling we could list numerous type of situations or fields where a successful outcome is normally labeled as lucky: career, family, health, investing, business and many more. The common denominator of all the lucky stories it’s always the action or risk taken by the person, the chance to loose some or everything he or she has at stake. Anyhow we shouldn’t forget other situations where luck is synonymous of case, fate or being blessed: typical example is the survivor of an airplane crash! So if luck (or what else you want to call it) or no luck exist, everybody should agree on the existence of bad luck too, at least as other side of the coin. In Italy, where we were pagans before becoming Christians there is a clear sense of awareness about the topic but what differs it’s how we deal with that.
Rossi’s pre-race procedure of “praying” while kneeling on his bike, adjusting his underwear leaving the pit out lane and then again on the grid has become famous because he has won 7 World Championships. All the MotoGp riders have their own steps with which they reach their mental focus and physical prowess while keeping at bay the negative energy. Negative energy …? But where does it come from? Well if we want to keep talking about MotoGp racers, it could come from an objective issue like a mechanical problem as well as the mounting pressure received by whoever is around them. Have you ever experienced the situation where you suddenly perceive that within your circle of people, family, friends or co-workers the atmosphere has changed? Now you start feeling the criticism and the pressure deriving from any of your actions: some people would love them while others hate them! Some are supporting you, others hope in your endeavors failure. For a famous actor or sport star the phenomenon assumes giant dimension because of the number of people that make “his or her circle”. Jealousy and enviousness are dangerous forces capable of bending the strongest minds, fold the best careers and reversing the best stories. Until a couple of year ago Valentino seemed to be immune from this peril but in coincidence with the peak of his popularity, and by default enviousness, he started experiencing some unusual difficulties or issues that in his long career he had already encountered but successfully solved in a short time. In 2006 I can easily recall the long straggle with the chattering, the faulty Michelin tires and at least one engine failure while leading the race. And what about that second place behind Elias by a couple of inches? After mysteriously low-siding on the last race, those five vital points meant losing the World Championship! At that time, he was greatly criticized for driving the F1 Ferrari during the pre-season months hence held responsible for failing to win the World MotoGp Title. In the 2007 season Valentino was not distracted by any particular lure (if we discard the friendship with the gorgeous Elisabetta Canali), indeed he gave 110% to compensate the substantial lack of power/speed at the beginning of the season and then for the miserable performance of the Michelin tires. In the last race in Valencia, in perfect compliance with the Murphy’s Law according to which “whatever can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst possible time and the worst possible way” Rossi lost the second place in the World Championship because of the M1 engine. The ice on the cake it was that the mechanical failure happened while he was courageously riding and defending his position with a wrist fractured in the free practice! And what about that blow received during the summer when he was notified of a multimillion-pound tax evasion on undeclared revenues between 2000 and 2004? He is responsible from a legal point of view but we know who “put” the young and inexperienced Italian fellow in such a predicament whose outcome revealed itself only after three years went by …
On the other end we have Stoner that after crashing bikes for most of his career until 12 months ago, on Ducati from day one was able to keep upright the bike each and every race! Mechanically he has never suffered any problem but one race when his slipper clutch was not consistent in the feeling. Also, during the season the young Aussie time after time enjoyed an edge on the competitors before with a 20kmh faster bike and then with winning-proof Bridgestone tires. That’s the beauty of life: anything can change at any moment, and sometimes magically or, let me say … luckily for the better!
Now given the circumstances if I were a consultant for Rossi I would remind him the old saying “there is never two without three …”. We cannot lose another championship in this manner, so besides dropping Michelin for Bridgestone, blustering the Yamaha engineers for a better bike and fire is friend and manager Gibo Badioli, I would recommend the old wives’ tale to hang garlic and peppers on your 2008 M1 to keep away negative energy and bad luck!
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7 comments:
He should have kept the rabbit's foot from the rabbit that donated its fur for the yellow fluffy number 46!
I'm not sure what Vale managed to do to get all this bad luck. Walk under a ladder? Spill salt without throwing some over his shoulder?
Good question ... Anyhow I have just read that he is flirting with the "red" idea of a Ducati in 2009 if Yamaha doesn't improve the M1 in 2008.
Luck-one could write a whole thesis on it! How about Casey Stoner? According to an interesting story in 'Sport Rider' magazine, in 2006 Ducati was negotiating with Sete Gibernau. They disputed over a small amount of money and negotiations ended. Nicky Hayden had a Ducati contract in hand worth more money than Honda offered, but his loyalty kept him with Honda. Next was Marco Melandri who accepted an offer from Ducati, but Fausto Gresini matched it, thus keeping him on their team. Casey Stoner was option number 4, he jumped at it, his life changed forever and we know the rest!
I have always enjoyed the story of a ballplayer whose name I forgot. When the question of luck was posed by a cycical reporter talking about his exceptionally good season, he replied that the more he practiced and harder he applied himself, the luckier he seemed to get!
After the last two seasons I really start to believe that he has some "bad luck". But even though he's still on top. Or at least very high in a classification.
Let's wait and see, as they say in my country: "everything comes and goes away...", bad luck included.
Max Biaggi has recently brought up an interesting coincidence: Rossi stopped winning World Championships since he left MotoGp. This year both of them have finished the two different championships in third place and while it is official that Biaggi will race WSBK the Sterigalda GoEleven's Ducati, Rossi claimed that if Yamaha doesn't improve in 2008 he would like to jump on a Ducati too!
What is going to be the next association between the two?
I think the next association will be Rossi kicking out Uccio and getting a dog.
Reuters reported that Valentino now claims that he will end his career riding a Yamaha .... another way to say that he will not try to ride a Duke in 2009 as it has been speculated. Jimmy was right ... He had promptly brought up the incongruence with the recent contracts for the next 2 years signed up by Stoner and Melandri
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