Sean McGuire: Hamilton is a great whatever happens

Oct 18 2007 by Sean McGuire, Liverpool Daily Post

A SIEGE mentality will be required in Brazil this weekend as Lewis Hamilton seeks to achieve the impossible and win the drivers’ championship in his rookie season.

Willed on by British fans – and seemingly willed against by everyone else – Hamilton has already had a fantastic season.

It is churlish to point out that by driving a McLaren Ferrari, err, Mercedes, he is at the wheel of the best car.

He has an impregnability that comes with unbruised youth. And it is great to watch.

We should expect money, fame, maturity and routine to soften his rawness, after all, he won’t always prefer a PlayStation game to a race track simulator for his race preparation.

Whatever comes to pass at Sao Paulo should be cause for celebration.

Guaranteed a podium finish in his first year he has a stellar career ahead of him.

Whether or not he is world champion on Monday should be irrelevant, his achievement should be heralded.

Unlike the response to the award of Man of Steel 2007, which has been met by collective squealing from rugby league fans.

Compare these two players.

One – for argument’s sake, we’ll call him James – is a 21-year-old British forward playing for his hometown club.

In the previous 12 months he has been a star of Great Britain’s tour down under, was the outstanding player of the first three months of the season, scored the first (and so far best) try at the new Wembley to put his team on track to win the Challenge Cup, and topped the metre-maker charts for the season.

The other – let’s call him Trent – is an Australian with a huge reputation and his performances were credited with dragging his team into sixth place.

Trent had a tremendous season, but the reaction has provided a glimpse into the inferiority complex of British sports fans.

How could a young British player possibly be better than an established Australian star?

Well he can be. And he was.

The Man of Steel award is for the player who has led the way, the player who never shirked from his share of work and then took up the slack from his team-mates.

And no-one said this only applies when the players cross the white line on to the pitch.

James, a first-teamer for four years, has already attended more kids’ teams presentations, community events and photo calls than a lot of players will manage in their whole career.

Fans love his courage for pulling down or running over men who appear to be twice his size while the media think he is a thoughtful, polite, engaging man.

Now that’s what is really meant by the complete rugby player.

Man of Steel 2007: Saints’ James Roby, no question.

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