Vale The Don

[Captain Sensible]

Bradman is dead-RIP
My wife just asked me what it was about him that made him so great. He made Australians feel good about themselves and gave them a hero in the most difficult of times(depression and WW11)
He will be missed

 

[eagleskickass]

Yeah. RIP Sir Don
Greatest Auusi Cricketer and definately close to if not the best in the world. True champ if ever there was one.
Will be sadly missed.

 

[ptw]

that is the saddest news I have heard in a long time.

As a nation, we take pride in cutting down tall poppies. We have very few national heroes; we acknowledge the achievements of our soldiers, but we do that as a collective rather than the feats of individuals.

None of our politicians will receive the ongoing respect of the Australian people once they have left office.

If you ask any Australian for the quintessential Australian hero it would be Don Bradman. Clearly a class above any other cricketer ever to have played the game, yet modest and also prepared to invest a lot back into the game which made him great.

It says a lot about our country that we typically personify our national heroes in the form of sportspeople, not soldiers or politicians. I for one am proud of this part of our national psyche.

The best part about Don Bradman is that he means more to Australia than simply a person, and therefore his passing will more than likely reinforce his place in our history, rather than diminish from it.

RIP

ptw

 

[vanders]

*sobs in the corner*

RIP Donny

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"Give McCabe a well deserved payrise"

 

[WA]

A true champion in a league of his own.
In my opinion, his batting average will never be beaten. I doubt we’ll ever have a more respected and well known Sportsperson as Sir Don.

ptw summed it up perfectly. A great post ptw.

RIP Sir Don

 

[Kaz]

Cricket has lost it's ultimate hero.
Farewell Sir Don.

 

[dees01]

A great Australian, and I think the greatest Australian of all. He was so much more than a cricketer to so many people.

 

[ant]

Simply the greatest. An icon, a champion, a legend, but also a top bloke.

The best there ever was, the best there ever will be.

 

[Bernie]

Apart from the fact that he gave the Poms regular thrashings, he exposed the myth of the 'sporting Englishman', which the Poms used to put down other cultures - '.. they just don't play the game ... it's just NOT cricket .." etc .

The Bodyline series was devised to destroy one man and it finally portrayed the Poms as win-at-all-costs scum they always said everyone else was - no moral high ground there. We should have learnt from that and thus avoiding relying on the Poms in WW2 to 'help us'.

Bradman and Bill O'Reilly had some VERY interesting confrontations over the 'cultural' make up of the teams , but that said, the great thing about him was that he had THE classic background - boy from the bush, modest, married childhood sweetheart , world champion - which Australians identified very closely with, esp. during periods of national self-doubt. His actions spoke louder.

 

[John Howard]

Well, it is a moment in the history of our country. No Australian has gathered greater respect, greater reverence and has had a greater impact on this country than Don Bradman. He was not only the greatest cricketer the world has seen, by the measurement of many the most skilled sportsman the world has seen.

But more than that he gave Australians hope and confidence in a time of great despondency and despair during the years of the depression when his prowess on the cricket field injected new spirit into people who needed something to lift their lives. And the fact that it’s now 52 years since he last played and we still talk of him in this extraordinary way is a measure of the impact he’s had on the life of the country. I spoke to his son earlier this morning and expressed the sympathy of the entire nation to him and remarked what an incredible impact Don Bradman has had on the lives of so many Australians and the concept and the impression of Australia around the world. It’s fair to say that the name ‘Bradman’ is the best known Australian name still on the Indian subcontinent and that’s a measure.

When Nelson Mandela saw Malcolm Fraser after he’d been released from captivity he asked almost as his first question whether Don Bradman was still alive. That’s an indication of how the man touched everybody’s life.

 

[John Howard]

It is a moment in the life of the country like perhaps none other because of the extraordinary influence that he’s had. And the fact that he lived a very long life after he left the sport, he gave a lot back through administration and then he, of course, worked through the challenges of world series cricket, played a role in bringing about a healing of that rift and then just continued on as somebody occupying that very special and revered place. And it will certainly have an enormous impact on the cricketing world and there will be an opportunity because after a private funeral there will be a memorial service, a State memorial service almost certainly in Adelaide. That’s a matter to be worked out between the family and the Australian Cricket Board. That’s a matter for them. The Government will, of course, assist in any way which is sought and that will be an opportunity for the nation and the cricketing world to pay tribute to this man’s remarkable life and the remarkable place he’s had in the hearts and the feelings of the Australian people for so many generations.

 

[Dodongo]

Is Don. Is Good.

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DODONGO HAS SPOKEN

 

[acuguy]

As a kid i wanted to be like the don, as a teenager i wanted to be like the don and as an adult i wanted to be like the don. His passing saddens me to no end. Such a great batsmen, such a great man. Sir Don you are with your loving wife now, his ledgend will grow as i pass on his ledgend when i have children, he ledgend will grow and he will never be forgotten.

 

[Dipper]

Here in England we recognise the Don as the greatest cricketer ever (perhaps even the greatest sportsman) & it gives me no pleasure to say theat we'll never see his like again.What I would pay just to have seen him bat once.

Ps Bernie I don't think that it is particularly admirable to use the death of this great man as an excuse to launch into a hatred laden attack on the whole English race.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Sir Don. Your whole life and the effect you had on the Australia psyche was undoubtedly your greatest innings. Every step in life was played with a straight bat. To go through a whole life and not give anybody any reason to doubt your integrity is a great feat in a world full of imperfection.

I myself am not upset that Don Bradman has passed away. The great man was in love with his wife Jessie for 75 years before her passing in 1997. I would not begrudge him being without her for another second. My grandmother waited 38 years to be reunited with my grandfather and talked often of seeing him again. As I was with her, we will all miss having The Don in our midst as we all dwelled on every word he spoke in fleeting messages over the years, but we all can recognise the private Don, the husband, the normal 'bloke' and wish him all the best as he embarks on another innings on a new pitch.

Australia today seems somehow less vibrant, less Australian with Don's passing, Australia's favourite son, our favourite 'grandfather' if you like. Don wanted to be remembered for his integrity, he will. He wanted to leave a legacy for cricket's future, he has done so for 53 years since his retirement and will continue to do so for all time. The whole world recognised Don as the greatest ever. The tributes on news services throughout the world are testimony to this. England, India and even the USA paid tribute.

To God, get St Peter to announce the arrival of Sir Donald George Bradman at the crease. Don't bother with rollers or the mower, The Don does not worry about such things. Take your seats and prepare to be dazzled, you might be here for quite a while.

 

[Richmondfan#1]

Is it true that he got 16 ducks?