The People's Champion

There is a little Andy Murray in all of us.

We can point to his awkwardness, his propensity to admonish himself at his mistakes, his dull tone when he speaks, and his less-than-supermodel looks. Even when it comes to his tennis, he doesn't have the awe-inspiring, unmatchable playstyles that his Big Four contemporaries do. He's normal. He's awkward. He's human.

That's what makes him the ultimate People's Champion. He's been the runt of the top guys for years and has had to slog his way to the mountaintop by fighting for every ball, working to improve all facets of his game, and sacrificing living a normal life, even as a tennis player, to become a multiple Grand Slam winner within the span of 12 months. What better way for that to culminate at Wimbledon with a straight set victory over his primary rival of this period of the Golden Era.

His many years of heartbreak, and sometimes embarrassment, at Grand Slam finals could have broken him for good. He could have given in to the superhumans talents of Roger Federer that have dazed him on big stages in the past, or to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, his age mates in this era who have already experienced wildly dominant periods in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Rather, he retooled his game, hired a new coach at the start of 2012, and slowly began to rewrite his history. He did this all the hard way and found success in the end, which inspires hope in everyone willing to work towards a dream.

The season is not over and his legacy is far from being carved into stone, so I am sure that achieving a seemingly ultimate achievement will not satisfy Andy for more than 24 hours. He will be back practicing for summer hard courts soon preparing to defend his U.S. Open title, something he's never had to do before. Still, you have to bet on him going forward as he has proven time after time that he belongs with the alphas of men's tennis. Except he's just a little more like you and me.

Congratulations, Andy Murray! May the name Fred Perry and the year 1936 forever rest in peace.