|
|
|
Rusalka's Magic Moment |
17/03/08 |
How does a person become a fan? Have you ever asked yourself this
question? Your daddy takes you to a grand prix? You see an amazing car
on the street and fall in love immediately?
My experience is less dramatized. How did I become a Ferrari (and
especially a Michael Schumacher) fan? Well, the main cause was - believe
it or not - boredom. Yes, I became a fan because I was bored.
It was 2001, middle of August. The weather damn hot, the birds were
falling off the boughs dead of heat. I was dying of thirst - because it
was too comfortable to lie on the bed in the cool room, so I wouldn't
ever try to get up to get some cold drink. My sister was embarrassingly
unbearably shouting some song next room with such a voice I wished I was
dumb. Television set working, yeah. Channel one: Esmeralda crying for
Jose Antonio de Whoever while roaming about in the forest blind. Channel
two: the love life of rats. Total boredom. Hell can be more interesting.
Switch to channel three.
Vrooom. Vrooom. Vrooom.... I see funny-looking car-like objects going
round and round and round and round and round with such a noise that was
even worse than my sister's singing. (And believe me that's the worst
you ever heard). "Gee-whiz. Esmeralda, rats, or racing. You choose, Timi...",
I thought. And chose.
First thing that awakened me from my total sleepy boredom: the
commentator. Thanks to him I started to be interested in that endless
going round. Moreover, I was laughing my head off. So I got up (whoa!)
and moved closer to the screen to see what those moving tiny objects
were. Turned out this was the Hungarian Grand Prix, live broadcast. "Whatta?",
I scratched my head, "my home sweet home has a RACE?"
Deep sigh, watching. The guy in the red car crosses a white line and a
flag is waved that looks like a badly designed chessboard. Great, end of
fun. Guy gets out, jumping as if fire was lit under his bottom. A huge
endless wave of something red invades the track. I suppose those are
fans. Ok, I get to know from commentator that a guy called Schuchamer
("What? Bad hearing... no, it's SchuMAcher", I read at the bottom of the
screen) - yeah heard of the guy from the papers - with a Ferrari won the
Hungarian GP and his fourth world championship title.
Ok, heard of Ferrari - that VERY expensive car (and when I say VERY it
means EXTRAORDINARILY VERY ), heard of the guy ("My classmates hate him
and cheer for that...uh...what's his name, that... Kika or Dika or
whatever, who cares") ... Guy takes off helmet... "Hey, not bad!", I
scream. My mother shouts from the kitchen 'Turn down the volume... what
stupid race you watch?'. Guy steps on podium ("yeah looks better and
better,...hey... why do my classmates hate him? This seems to be a nice
guy... with a nice red car...") Jumping Jumping ("Seems so it's his
habit or what") Commentator screaming in happiness ("The guy is nuts"),
somewhere on the circuit the Queen's "We are the champions" is played,
guys in red hats keep shouting... such... a ... well, festival! Yeah a
cheerful festival over there! "Must get to know more about this guy!", I
think.
Press conference. The guy (got to know his first name is Michael, and
wonder why reporter calls him [Maikl] when he is obviously very
German...) so the guy starts speaking in English. "Hey, has a sweet
voice - and hey he has a good pronunciation!" That's obviously very
important for a future teacher of English. Guy smiles, has a good sense
of humour... wonder why mates might hate him.... maybe wins too much and
to often? Hmm. Race over, sister stopped singing and Esmeralda meanwhile
can see again.
And I am excited... must get to know info about this guy... Next day's
first task: Internet. Search. Schumacher. Ferrari.
And the rest is history. |
|
|
