Herioc Nadal confirms return to tennis

First topic message reminder :

Golden Career Grand Slam Holder 11-time Winner Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will enter the Chile Open, which starts on 4th February.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/01/Features/Nadal-To-Play-At-Vina-del-Mar.aspx

Earlier he accepted a wildcard to return at the Brazil Open, which starts on 11th February but has not also confirmed he is playing Chile too, which starts a week earlier.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/01/Features/Nadal-Set-For-Sao-Paulo-Next-Month.aspx

This comes as a surprise considering Nadal was meant to return for the Mexican Open later in February, but he has been feeling good in training and hence pre-poned his return.

Rafael Nadal, founder of the charity 'Rafael Nadal Foundation', helps to provide an opportunity for children and adolescents with disabilities, those coming from underprivileged surroundings and those limited by an unfortunate family environment, who run the risk of being excluded from society. His three projects include: Vicente Ferrer Foundation in Antapur, India; the Special Olympics; and the Aldeas Infantiles SOS. His work in India was noted worldwide, as the Rafael Nadal foundation set up tennis schools which also provided education; for children of all ages and backgrounds.



Amritia3ee

It Must Be Love wrote:

invisiblecoolers wrote:Actually IMBL you should understand your title not just irritated me but it created a furore.

What furore?

public outburst

Using the word heroic and Rafa close together in real world terms is obviously stretching things. But in tennis he has faced some situations that require "tennis" heroics.

For example: Losing a two sets to love lead at Wimbledon in 2008 to Roger having lost in two previous finals to him and coming back to win. Playing a deciding set rubber in the Davis cup final in front of an expectant crowd against Del Potro on clay. Going down a set and a break then turning the match around. Losing five finals in a row to Djokovic and turning that losing streak around.

And maybe a little tennis bravery will be required when he takes to the court in Brazil with the whole world waiting to see if he slips up or not.

hawkeye wrote:Using the word heroic and Rafa close together in real world terms is obviously stretching things. But in tennis he has faced some situations that require "tennis" heroics.

For example: Losing a two sets to love lead at Wimbledon in 2008 to Roger having lost in two previous finals to him and coming back to win. Playing a deciding set rubber in the Davis cup final in front of an expectant crowd against Del Potro on clay. Going down a set and a break then turning the match around. Losing five finals in a row to Djokovic and turning that losing streak around.

And maybe a little tennis bravery will be required when he takes to the court in Brazil with the whole world waiting to see if he slips up or not.

I don't quite agree the Wimbledon thingy as he was dominating the game right from the start, but yes the davis cup match against Del Po was an heroic performance on the given day, with Del Po blazing all guns Rafa inspired by his home fans made a stunning come back and won the game with ease in the end.

invisiblecoolers wrote:

The only thing I didn't like in the article is the heading, we all know Nadal is a hero and hence stating it on the article headline for a simple reason of his return to action looks meaning less. Use the word hero or heroic when such a performance is attributed at that given time, certainly not here, otherwise it looks a bit more fan boyism.

Hey for once I agree ic. Nadal is coming back from a long-term injury and that is great to see but heroic? Sorry he had a knee injury not fought off life threatening cancer or something otherwise does every player who have time off for injury become heroes when they come back?

haha seems like you are alluding to a certain someone who fought off life threatening cancer CC

Good 2 see we had atleast one common observation CC

heroic discussion

I feel a true hero for starting it.

Caledonian, I am not saying he is heroic for coming back from injury.
That would indicate that I was implying that he would not be a hero if not for his injury, and that would be a very unfair claim by me.

Anyway, more good news, Nadal has now also confirmed his participation in the CHile oPen : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/01/Features/Nadal-To-Play-At-Vina-del-Mar.aspx

It Must Be Love wrote:Caledonian, I am not saying he is heroic for coming back from injury.
That would indicate that I was implying that he would not be a hero if not for his injury, and that would be a very unfair claim by me.

Sorry but in that case why even use the word?

CaledonianCraig wrote:

It Must Be Love wrote:Caledonian, I am not saying he is heroic for coming back from injury.
That would indicate that I was implying that he would not be a hero if not for his injury, and that would be a very unfair claim by me.

Sorry but in that case why even use the word?

It's an interesting question no doubt.

It Must Be Love wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

It Must Be Love wrote:Caledonian, I am not saying he is heroic for coming back from injury.
That would indicate that I was implying that he would not be a hero if not for his injury, and that would be a very unfair claim by me.

Sorry but in that case why even use the word?

It's an interesting question no doubt.

Is an interesting answer possible or are you in 'evade' mode?

How simple it would have been to edit the title of the article early on, and thereby lend some dignity to its content.

In fact it has since been edited from its original version - but only to inform us of the news that Nadal will not only be performing heroics in Brazil, but in Chile too.

lags72 wrote:

In fact it has since been edited from its original version - but only to inform us of the news that Nadal will not only be performing heroics in Brazil, but in Chile too.

Indeed it has

JuliusHMarx wrote:

It Must Be Love wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

It Must Be Love wrote:Caledonian, I am not saying he is heroic for coming back from injury.
That would indicate that I was implying that he would not be a hero if not for his injury, and that would be a very unfair claim by me.

Sorry but in that case why even use the word?

It's an interesting question no doubt.

Is an interesting answer possible or are you in 'evade' mode?

If Dave C can avoid giving a speech about Europe, I'll delay releasing my speech for a while too.

so yes then.

It's not a speech we're looking for IMBL in this regard.

Just a simple answer to a simple question will be fine.

and as a reminder to our viewers, the million dollar question is :

"Why exactly is "Heroic Nadal" heroic?" ....... )

Bjorn Borg was my hero.. but dont ask me why I thought that ... I just thought he was the beeeeeeez neeeeeeeez and could do no wrong

Why's everyone getting their knickers in a twist ? So what if he used the word heroic, maybe Rafa is a heroic figure to him in the sense that he is inspirational and therefore one of his heroes. Nothing wrong with that.

As the emancipator I am considered a heroic and indeed legendary figure in many ancient civilisations so this hero concept is nothing new for me.

Minions, you may offer your sacrifices.



emancipator

lags72 wrote:It's not a speech we're looking for IMBL in this regard.

Just a simple answer to a simple question will be fine.

and as a reminder to our viewers, the million dollar question is :

"Why exactly is "Heroic Nadal" heroic?" ....... )

coz IMBL said so

@ Haddie, you framed it right Bjorn Borg was your hero, you didn't say BB is the hero in general, two different statement all together.

emancipator wrote:Why's everyone getting their knickers in a twist ? So what if he used the word heroic, maybe Rafa is a heroic figure to him in the sense that he is inspirational and therefore one of his heroes. Nothing wrong with that.

As the emancipator I am considered a heroic and indeed legendary figure in many ancient civilisations so this hero concept is nothing new for me.

Minions, you may offer your sacrifices.



emancipator

We know you have a heroic sense of humor

At IMBL, nobody expects any statement from you nor any kinda apology from you as you didn't do any mistake, we are just having a fun go and not a heroic go at the article heading, we know you are little excited by your hero's return which is very much expected considering how much a die hard fan you are, we all want your hero to make a comeback quick and lets hope he makes a heroic return to the tour.

IC

emancipator wrote:Why's everyone getting their knickers in a twist ? So what if he used the word heroic, maybe Rafa is a heroic figure to him in the sense that he is inspirational and therefore one of his heroes. Nothing wrong with that.

As the emancipator I am considered a heroic and indeed legendary figure in many ancient civilisations so this hero concept is nothing new for me.

Minions, you may offer your sacrifices.



emancipator

But emancipator .... are you truly heroic enough to recover from an injury to your knees, such that you will once again be able to hit a tennis ball ....??

Or perhaps your legendary god-like status among 'ancient civilizations' renders you forever free of physical harm....

'tis the latter oh child lags, son of 72.

Alas, it can get quite tiresome, this immortality business..



rotapicname

Well lags Emanci forgot Hades is coming back from dark, so his heroic status actually in jeopardy

emancipator wrote:'tis the latter oh child lags, son of 72.

Alas, it can get quite tiresome, this immortality business..



rotapicname

I thought as much, emancipator, indeed it comes as no surprise.

And I suspect that there may also be truth in what you say, invisible

In ancient folklore the chant of the indigenous tribes was often heard .....

See the conquering hero comes,
Sound the trumpets, beat the drums

emancipator wrote:Minions, you may offer your sacrifices.



emancipator

I have to Mod this place - that's sacrifice enough for anyone

@ lags

Dont take it to heart IMBL they are winding you up.. if Rafa is your hero God Bless im not far behind you anything is better than having to make a sacrifice to the immortal invincible emancipator lol ..

Now Haddie I had enough you completely confused me with the last statement, my sacrifice is I am rolling the beats on for free

Well ic im glad you have recognised yourself to be one of EM´s minions...prostrate yourself if you must.. and be the sacrifice of the immortal one..
In the meantime Ive got some tennis to watch By the way put those things away people are watching lol

Was reading on Twitter that Nadal has been on court today with Robredo in Barcelona. Good to see him gearing up for his return

By pure chance have just spotted the switch from 'Heroic' to 'Charitable' in the article's title.

Looks like it was quietly amended this past Wednesday.

In response to popular demand/derision I wonder ....? Or just plain old common sense finally kicking in ...?

Perhaps a combination of both.

A welcome change, either way.

nahh dont cower down to the masses, stick to ya guns.

A favourite quote of mine from George Orwell comes to mind here.

I changed it because I was in an argument with Julius on another section on the forum and thought he might try to twist this article against me.
So I quickly changed it.

I'll change it back now.

Lags, why is anything a 'welcome' change?
I am allowed to form an opinion of any player if I so like, without anyone's permission.
If you disagree with it, I don't mind.

How about "Heroically charitable"? Cover it all?

bogbrush wrote:How about "Heroically charitable"? Cover it all?

Yes. Good idea actually

IMBL - I described it as 'welcome' primarily because I was somewhat bemused* by the strange use of the word Heroic in relation to a multi--millionaire tennis player who has taken a few months off work because of a knee injury.

When I (and others IIRC) asked out of interest if you would say why he is 'heroic' there was nothing to inform us.

Would perhaps have helped solve the riddle. That's about it really......

(* even more bemused by the switch back)

Charitably Heroic has a slightly better ring to it (IMHO)

No, he's now heroically charitable, rather than charitable heroic. Makes all the difference.

Okay then..... see what you mean. I think.....

I tend to give to charity (would happily give a lot more if I had the resources) so I'm almost starting to feel heroic .........

Just a little heroic, you understand .......

I was struck by something I heard recently. You judge a person's charity not by how much they give, but by how much they have left after they've given.

Oh dear.

I might not be Heroically Charitable after all now ......

...charitable...

???? ???? .... is Nadal (the only player with a leading h2h with the other members of current Top 4) going to throw matches while playing Djokovic, Murray and Federer?

lags72 wrote:Oh dear.

I might not be Heroically Charitable after all now ......

None of us are.

JuliusHMarx wrote:I was struck by something I heard recently. You judge a person's charity not by how much they give, but by how much they have left after they've given.

You mean we shouldn't be worshipping the latest David Beckham brand promotional activity?

Worshipping is a bit charged bb.

Sure, he's enhancing brand Beckham, and we all (him included !!) know as much.

But ....... when all said & done he's donating sackloads of cash (which he could easily spend on himself) to a children's charity, and I'd like to think we can give credit where credit's due.

lags72 wrote:Worshipping is a bit charged bb.

Sure, he's enhancing brand Beckham, and we all (him included !!) know as much.

But ....... when all said & done he's donating sackloads of cash (which he could easily spend on himself) to a children's charity, and I'd like to think we can give credit where credit's due.

He won't need credit, he'll increase his wealth more by doing this than by taking the salary. The last thing he needs is a loan.