Hamilton - Arrogant and ungrateful.

I read some daily sports news, and some of it just makes me dismayed. Lewis Hamilton - the guy everyone is talking about being the 'next big British sports icon' - has shown himself to me to be nothing more than someone who is arrogant and aloof and not grateful how lucky he is to have been brought up in an environment like he had. I thought I was the only one who thought so. Apparently not. His success seems to have 'polarized Britain' (amazing inflated language) according to Sportscenter, which I was pleasantly surprised to hear. But rightly so. His attitude and words have certainly tarnished many people's already bad impression of British as being a bunch of self-centred people who think, among other things, that winning football tournaments is their birthright because Britain is 'the home of football'. He had stolen the drivers' championship on the final lap due to a mistake (yes purely a mistake) by another driver. And his first words to the world, something along the lines of 'I'm amazed '(a la Ronaldo's "I always knew I would be the world's best I just didn't expect it to come so soon"), "Thank you team, thank you family", then "I'm gunning for more". Obviously, Felipe Massa was completely on the back of his mind.

Let's shift our minds back to wimbledon. 2007 - Federer beat Nadal in an epic 5-setter. Fed's first words - congrats Rafa, you could easily have won it. 2008 - Nadal beat Federer in an even closer 5-setter in what could well have been the best tennis match ever. Nadal's first words - "I want to congratulate Roger for playing such a great match", and Federer's first words in return - "Rafa's a deserving champion", which must have hurt his ego deeply. Tennis is so privileged to have 2 top-notch sportsmen at the top of their game (and I come to respect Rafa right up there with R Fed). I wonder if up-and-coming Andy Murray (another Brit) can match their humility. Golf has had Tiger. And if F1 is having Lewis, it is sad indeed.

Back to Lewis. I'm not even an avid follower of F1 or anything, but it is just so clear how pampered he is. With Alonso in the team last year, they both had feuds throughout the season and to be fair, Alonso is competitive but I don't think he for one went overboard. Yet through the British press, he was adjudged to be splitting Mc Claren apart and as expected, was asked to leave the team at the end of the season. Surprise surprise - Kimi Raikkonen won the 2007 championship but all everyone talked about was how "awfully close" Hamilton came. And I haven't even talked about Hamilton's on-the-track antics, he is one who drives like the track is made for one car only, but anyway, I think I've made my point. Let's look at Massa now. His first words were that the team did their best to support him and congratulations to Lewis. Very notably, he said "I know how to win and I know how to lose". Fair play to him, I think there is a lot more to be learnt from Massa's reaction, than from Hamilton setting his eyes on yet another milestone (that would be absolutely forgotten when I die). If you think about it, many sportsmen are remembered more for their character than their sporting feats. So too, will be how we would be remembered.

We have a lot to learn from people like Federer, like Nadal, like Massa, than from people like Hamilton. Losing reveals one's true colours, something I've been reminded of. Thinking of Arsenal now makes me sad. Sad at how weak the team is, as much as team spirit can make up there is no denying that. Sad at how Wenger, who has made so many right decisions during his legacy here, has made a big hash of it this time round. Yet, I think this is a time that people will see the true colours of Arsenal - and their fans too. As much as people complain about how the manager is not able to wake up to reality, we fans have to wake up too. Now is a time to see the true colours about everyone involved. Same thing too for anyone facing failure or disappointment, or even success or good fortune.

Will you be a Hamilton, or will you be a Federer / Nadal?