A few years ago, I was standing in line at a McDonald's in Oklahoma when the guy behind me started a brief conversation. Noting my Green Bay Packers cap, he said, "A Packers fan, huh?"
Being English, I am not used to complete strangers suddenly addressing me and I was caught by surprise - all I could think of in reply was "Yup." But, wanting to continue the conversation, I added after a moment's thought, "And what team do you support?" The guy was a master of delivery and timing. With a deadpan face, he answered instantly, "Whichever team is playing the Cowboys."
Gilles
Now that is a sentiment I can recognize in myself. In soccer, for instance, I support any team that plays Manchester United since, for some reason that I don't understand, I detest that team. And I admit that any driver who spends most of his career at Ferrari has a mountain to climb if he wants to win my support. Even Kimi is slightly suspect - I'm glad he is champion this year but I'd have been just as pleased if Hamilton had won.
And so today, when I read Keith's Collantine's weekly round-up of the blogs and came across a review of Gilles Villeneuve's career, I was reminded of how mixed were my feelings about Gilles during his lifetime.
He was, after all, a Ferrari driver through and through. Before the red team took him on, he was regarded as talented but wild and there were a few of those around at the time. It was Ferrari that gave Gilles the circumstances and equipment to make a name for himself. They were not always the best cars but were so different from the Cosworth-powered pack that, given Gilles' ability to squeeze the maximum from an advantage in any area, he could demonstrate his gargantuan will to win.
At the time, I was a Nelson Piquet fan - mainly because I loved the way he rubbed Lauda's nose in it when they were team mates at Brabham in 1979. I had a friend who was an ardent Gilles supporter and so, very often, I found myself in the position of having to rubbish the Ferrari driver, in spite of my secret and grudging respect for him. And it is entirely appropriate that Nelson should have been his harshest critic.
At this distance, I can look back and say that, yes, Gilles was one of the greatest drivers of all time. But it is still true that there was a wild streak in him that brought a long list of spectacular crashes. All or nothing, that was Gilles.
Looking down the list of times at the Barcelona test yesterday, the sore thumb turned out to be quite unexpected: Giancarlo Fisichella with fourth fastest time in last year's Force India. There is life in the old dog yet, it seems. And we are reminded that Fizzy always gives of his best when in adverse circumstances - when the car is useless, he'll make it shine.
Yet Giancarlo is no Villeneuve. Too often have we seen him give up a position in the race without a fight. This apparent unwillingness to defend overpowers our impression of his grittiness in uncompetitive cars and leaves us thinking that it may be time for him to retire. It is only his transfer to a backmarker team that raises our interest once again.
He is not the only one with the specter of retirement hanging over him - David Coulthard has been expected to call it a day for a few years now but still he soldiers on. And he is another who seems to lack that Villeneuve spark of fierce determination - although he will fight to defend a position, even when outside the points.
To be fair, drivers with the Villeneuve factor are pretty rare these days. Kimi springs to mind immediately, of course, but who else is there? Too many of them are in the Prost mold, cold calculators of the best chance, totting up the points for the championship and sulking if anyone bangs wheels with them.
Except maybe Hamilton. He took his disappointments in the final races with Kimi-like cool and his mistakes were the result of trying to win the race, rather than thinking of the championship - so reminiscent of both Kimi and Gilles. It is too early to tell but it may be that the wonder boy is one of the real racers, the death or glory merchants that we come to love so passionately. Far from criticizing him for throwing away a championship, perhaps we should be praising his need to race above everything else.
It would be especially nice for me if Hamilton were to turn out to be "The One". With the only recognized racer now driving for Ferrari, I am torn in my sympathies and desperately need a contender to appear in another team. Let Lewis continue to show that determination to win regardless of common sense and I'll be only too pleased to support him against "that Ferrari driver."