Reign In Spain

‘TIM Henman might be as charismatic as a stuffed shirt, but he is the master of suspense.

Tiger or a drowned cat?

Yesterday the rain fell and broke Henman’s match with Sebastien Grosjean into four.

The fifth, and what we hope will be the final part of the Wimbledon quarter-final, will be played today.

The Times says that the schizophrenic weather – rain, then sun, then rain, then sun, then rain again – was in keeping with Henman’s performance, which says everything about ‘why he is loved, why he is feared, why he is despised’.

We know the Tiger has his fans and his critics, but despised is surely too strong a word to ever use in the context of the British No.1.

Just tell the Henmaniacs that someone hates their man and watch them tear the villain to pieces.

Which is pretty much what the baying mob that went to see David Beckham in Madrid would have done to their new idol had a large wire fence not separated them.

One boy did manage to wriggle under the divide, and the Telegraph watches as he dashes up to the England captain and wraps his arm around him.

Given the furore over the Prince William birthday bash, you’d be unsurprised if the papers immediately began speculating over what would have happened if the boy had been a bomb or was a terrorist on a mission of evil.

Of course, as with the Prince and the comedy terrorist incident, it’s all good publicity, and Beckham was keen to play the good guy, giving the new arrival his spare No.23 shirt and a few friendly pats on the head.

And get used to number 23 being the new number to have. As the Guardian says, this number has magical qualities.

We learn that American basketball legend Michael Jordan wore the number in the pomp.

And if that’s not enough to turn your head, know that the number is also worn at club level by Sol Campbell, Christian Ziege, Carlo Cudicini and Jamie Carragher.

It was also the number being worn by Deportivo La Coruna’s midfielder Aldo Duscher when he broke a bone in Beckham’s foot.

Which is very, very interesting…

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Posted: 3rd, July 2003 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink