The Return of the Crimson Tide

I have this peculiar habit of reading yesterdays paper today. This outlandish behavior is mainly due to our consistently irregular paper boy, who thinks nothing much of punctuality being deemed a virtue. Anyway, I have to leave for office by quarter to nine, and I like my paper with my breakfast. The paper boy obviously doesn't care much about my timetable or my preferences. So you get the idea. Anyway, getting to my point, I was thumbing through yesterdays paper, and I came across this revelation hidden in the corner of the last page, tucked neatly under the ' Zlatan to Barca'. It said, 'Schumacher might stage a comeback to fill-in for the injured Massa'. It was probably the best piece of gibberish I had come across in a long while. Schumi coming back??!! The exclamation marks say it all. I was shocked to say the least. Was there any truth in those words. Maybe there was. But such gibberish fills you up with hope. Hope, to see that wonderful crimson machine lighting the tarmac on fire once again. Just like the good old days. I still remember the resilient overtaking maneuvers, the breathtaking jammed first corners, the revving of the liquid-cooled V8 engine, and of course, the tongue-in-cheek answers after a podium finish. And this time, to add to the fireworks, we have the KERS as well. Imagine Schumi catapulting past everyone once the five red lights illuminate. This is going to be one classy season.

And about an hour back, the news hit me like a truck. This time over the Internet and a special thanks to my dear friend Cliff (Bless them). Mr. Schumacher was confirmed by Scuderria Ferrari, as the super-sub for Mr. Massa, for the rest of the season. And at this juncture, let me express my grief over losing out on Massa, because if there is a Ferrari balance sheet out there, Massa has to be the number two asset (the machine being the number one). All I can say is 'hard luck' and 'get well soon'. No disrespect to Kimi, but let's face it. Massa and Schumi would've been wonderful. Anyway, I have now the opportunity to relish the rest of this year. 7 races remain, which include Sao Paolo, Monza and the next one, Valencia, on the 23rd of August. We've waited for three years, and never in my wildest dreams, could I have conjured something as outré and as fulfilling to the senses. I always believed in God, now I know for sure.