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Learning Baggio

Watching Baggio: The Divine Ponytail was a great experience. It brought back memories of watching him play and following news about him - one among his legions of his fans. Between Baggio, Platini and Maradona there was a dazzling amount if star-power in football back in those days. I still enjoy watching the game but feel far more removed from the personality of the players which was a big part of the experience - that must have been a thing of adolescence and early youth. The movie tells the story of Baggio the man and the football player. The former I did not know much about and found fascinating.

A great success like his quite often a combination of rare talent (one in a million as his father says), huge obstacles overcome to build strength and some unshakable inner faith that propels the person in their darkest hour. It's instructive to see the role parents play in the shaping of such greatness. Roberto Baggio had a complex relationship with his father and yet it served as a force that shaped his career and destiny. Was the man an exemplary father? Maybe not. Was he able to connect Roberto to his full potential? Very likely. So it is with such mixed and even questionable blessings that extraordinary talent is able to shine in the world. It made me think about much minor talent not being able to reach potential because the parents did not create the right amount to tension to urge it on. It was either too much coddling or too much commandeering. 

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