2017: The Year Gone By

How do you remember the year gone by? Especially a year like 2017 which was an amalgamation of events with “fake news” and “alternate facts”! So as we step into 2018, why not take a look back at some of the happenings & non-happenings to remember the year gone by

1. News Grabber-in-Chief of the Year 

The one and only Donald Trump who declared war on basically everyone (except his trusted friend Vladimir Putin). He was always in headlines, as befits his position as POTUS, but almost always for the wrong reasons – began by quoting Bane in his inaugural speech, calling Meryl Streep (an 18 time Oscar nominee) an over-rated actor, fighting with the news broadcasters, having skirmishes with nearly all government agencies, engaging in Twitter battles, and a war of words with Kim Jong Un (where barbs included “madman”, “dotage”, responding with “fire & fury” etc.). There was no way, you could keep him out of the news.

2. New Arrival of the Year

Zealandia - the 8th Continent: We always thought New Zealand was a bit different, with more sheep than humans. Also probably why Peter Jackson, chose that country as the setting for Middle Earth. Now we got confirmation that it is indeed a separate continent altogether. Well, schoolkids will now have to remember one more name in their geography classes.

3. The Comeback Kids

Both maybe on the wrong side of 30 and recovering from multiple aches and pains but Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal shared all the 4 Grand Slams in the year, while their rivals lost their way. No one seemed a bit unhappy about it though (maybe except the male singles Tennis players). And if the average fan was happy seeing them together on the court facing each other, Imagine the happiness when they played doubles together! (video). May they take the rivalry to new heights in 2018 as well. And just for fun, a video of them reciting Kipling’s If.

4. Word of the Year 

We have two contenders: Covfefe - an accident by Trump and Farrago – a rant from an irate Shashi Tharoor. Both trended and generated lots of memes. Personally I prefer farrago as it is a very good example of a rodomontade. 

5. Self-goal of the Year

There was an epic secrecy exercise carried by HBO to prevent spoilers and leakages of its “piece de resistance” – Game of Thrones. But hackers still managed to get some access and threatened to leak scripts and scenes of unreleased episodes. Till.... HBO accidentally leaked one of the episodes prior to telecast! 

6. The Indestructible

To the list of indestructible items we have a new addition - Salvador Dali’s moustache. The artist’s body was exhumed for a DNA test and after 28 years of being buried, the famous Dali moustache was still intact!

7. A New Citizenship Category

Saudi Arabia now has a robot citizen – by the name Sophia. It was a year in which Saudis were in the news for unusual reasons – the Vision 2030 document, women being allowed to drive, permitted to enter stadiums, reopening of theaters etc. But giving citizenship to a robot certainly takes the cake.

8. Whats in a Name?

Ask the World Taekwondo Federation who changed their name to World Taekwondo. Reason to ensure that there are no negative connotations with its initials which matched with one of the most popular slang expressions of modern times!

9. Battle of the Year

Soldiers of two most populous countries of the world locked in a standoff in a cold terrain, both countries loaded with nuclear weapons. And the soldiers engage in a fistfight and throwing stones at each other! We might be in the 21st century A.D., but thankfully the armies brawled like they were in 21st century B.C.!

10.Viral Song of the Year

Despacito – which took over as the most played video on YouTube. Have no clue of the lyrics (remember Gangnam Style), but the music is fun

So that was 2017. Wishing all readers a very Happy 2018!

The Return of the Kings

The Date - 29th January, 2017

The Venue - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

The Occasion - The 2017 Australian Open Men's Singles Final

The Protagonists - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

To quote Rocky Balboa, "every great fighter has one last great fight left in him". 

It was the finale no one had anticipated, a fortnight ago. But it was a scenario which every tennis fan had dreamed about. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battling it out in a Grand Slam final, one more time. Both men returning from extended injury lay-offs, both past their prime and yet both hanging in there though their glory days are behind them. 

Two weeks back, neither was anywhere close to being the title favorite. Realistically anything beyond quarter-finals would have been considered a tremendous achievement. Yet, as the draw unfolded, the dream scenario began to become clearer and clearer. First went out the champions Djokovic and Murray, soon followed by the old guard Tsonga, Ferrer, Berdych, Cilic, and then it was the turn of the upstarts Raonic, Nishikori, Thiem. Until all that remained in the way of the dream final were Wawrinka (a man with a habit of sneaking in Grand Slam titles) and Dmitrov (finally living upto his early potential). Both fought hard, but the old warriors survived 5-set battles to set-up the ultimate finale.

And did the match live up to the hype and anticipation. It wasn't tennis at its most sublime, the old warhorses had seen better days. At times, the bodies weren't willing, but their spirits certainly were. Federer took the opening set. Nadal hit back immediately in the second. Federer hit back harder in the third. In a see-saw battle, Nadal took the fourth. Punches and counter-punches were exchanged. Unforced errors were followed by some magical winners. In the fifth set Nadal raced ahead, Federer caught up with him and then found an extra gear right at the very end to win the match and the championship. Together these two gladiators had won the hearts of all those watching.

These weren't just two tennis players facing off for one of the prestigious titles. These are men who transcend sports. For those four magical hours everything else was forgotten, Trump and his ban on immigrants, upcoming assembly elections in India or the latest acts of "intolerance", or political scandal. Because the world was watching two men rolling back the clock to produce one hell of a fight.  After all the Kings had returned!!!

Personally, have been a Federer fan more than a Nadal fan. But during this match, there was no favorite. I wanted both to win (like this fan in the picture). And Federer summed up the general mood during the presentation "There are no draws in tennis, but tonight, I would have been happy to share this trophy with Rafa". 

As Mr. Cho summed it up, "Congratulations for such a great display of tennis tonight .... Unfortunately, only one winner can be crowned tonight. But I believe both of you should be proud of the sportsmanship and passion you have shown throughout this year's tournament."

Agree with Mr. Cho. This match was a treat for every sports fan in the world. Thank You Roger! Thank You Rafa!

"Every great fighter has one last great fight left in him". I hope this wasn't the last one for them.

P.S. I took a nap after the opening break in the 2nd set with the confidence that this was going to 5 sets. And thankfully they did not disappoint!