"SVTyler" (svtyler)
05/01/2014 at 11:50 • Filed to: None
8
0|
"SVTyler" (svtyler)
05/01/2014 at 11:50 • Filed to: None | 8
| 0 |
Picture from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and text courtesy of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
I was 8 years old when he died. I first started to understand F1 in 91, 92, 93 and 94... I cried like my father or mother had died. I still remember every single moment of that day... every living brazilian knows where he was, and what he was doing and WHAT HE FELT.
I usually woke up in sunday's morning to see my whole family gathered around the tv watching some cars race, and at first I couldn't understand what was happening but I could understand their joy and excitement when this guy was racing, along with their sad and angry faces when he was out. Pretty soon I was cheering and crying with them too.
Watching Senna race was not like a sport hobby, it was like a religion. Brazilians love soccer but they don't follow it in a strict routine and with their whole family in every single game. You are passionate about your team but it's probably just like everywhere else too. But that was not like anything like it was when Senna was racing.
We woke up sundays morning, gathered the family, ate breakfast next to the TV and cheered for him in every lap. After the race, we would all bath and get ready for church and later lunch, all together with your family and this was exactly the same in every single other family. Everybody did this. Maybe not all families went to church later but they did watch him race.
Brazil was coming out of it's dictature years and it's democracy and free speech was starting to crawl like a baby. We had a pretty bad image of our country during the military years because they forced you to love the country (they had a say: "Brazil: love it, or leave it") and we didn't want to cheer for that, we didn't want that to succeed, a lot of Brazilians who had the opportunity did leave the country for decades. That's why some folks stole the Jules Rimet world cup and melted it. They couldn't stand the military using it for their propaganda.
But then there was suddenly this guy that showed the whole country that they can be proud of theirselves, they can get their families together, they can unite for a single goal, they can try to overcome all difficulties and be even better than those who lived in a better country, with better opportunities, with better chances at success. You can be the best if you dedicate yourself, you can be the best if you put your mind into, nothing should hold you back. We as a country, were just learning this things, we lived in a very dark age, separated from the whole world and lived in lies and afraid to get out of our home.
Senna did to us much more than win races. I could barely understand that back then, but I could understand what he was doing to us without really understanding how.
A sunday without a race in the morning was a very boring one and the family wasn't gathered around since 8AM, 9AM. Everyone would wake up at different time, eat breakfast alone, get ready at their own pace, and it just wasn't the same, there was no atmosphere.
We have a very special image of him. As a young brazilian growing up during those years I have him as a hero, a role model. And he was the image we tryed to reflect on our society, on our country as we grew older.
It's not about winning races, it's about getting people together, it's about family, commitment, dedication, seeking perfection, not giving up. Even today, there's a very strong phrase, that replaced that old saying: (O Brasileiro não desiste nunca - The Brazilian never gives up / surrenders).
And watch that guy, THAT GUY, THAT ONE FUCKING GUY, dying in front of us, live, next with all our loved ones, and watching them crying... the scars are still open... it still hurts.
I wish I was there in that pic :/