How did you become a Marat fan?

[Cassie]

Okay, I didn't see a topic about this before so...

The first time I saw Marat, I vaguely remember it to be in 2000. I just randomly turned on tv and saw this guy play tennis. Normally, I would just immediately switch the channel, but the camera was always focused on this gorgeous guy. So I actually stayed to watch the match for a while. I didn't know anything about tennis so I don't remember who he was playing. He was wearing a green-bluish/white shirt and I think the match was played indoors. I believe it was after he had won the US Open because I remember (I may be hallucinating) that Sampras's name was mentioned and a clip of him kissing the ground at the Open was shown.
The funny thing is that the next day, my tutor came as usual. I asked her how she was doing and she said something about watching a hot Russian tennis player on tv. And I was like, "No way! Are we thinking about the same guy?" After that match, I became semi-obsessed with Marat. I found out that he was ranked number two after this guy (Guga Kuerten) and went on several sites looking for pics of him. But I ceased to care about him after a while because I had no interest in tennis (I've never picked up a racket before) and I didn't see him on tv afterwards. Some years later, I remember checking his ranking (don't ask me how I suddenly remembered him) and he had slipped to 6. That was the last recognition of him until last year at Wimbledon.
Even though I said I had no interest in tennis, I actually became involved in my school's team for two years. Tennis has become my favorite sport so last year at Wimbledon when I was really bored, I was happy to see some tennis on tv. All I could see on tv was Andy Roddick (well, I knew him. He's American) and all I heard was that only one guy could stop him and that guy was Roger Federer. So...I was wondering..."Um...What happened to that guy I liked so many years ago?" I went to the Wimbledon official site and desperately looked for Marat in the draw. Well, it was already in fourth round I think and I didn't see Marat's name there. Well, turned out he had lost in round 1. I was thinking, "Damn, he sucks now" So I don't why I chose to follow him. Sometimes even now, I wonder why I'm still so obsessed with Marat. I guess it's my stubborn loyalty to the first tennis player I saw and the guy who introduced me to tennis. Of course, I did fall in love with his charismatic personality and wonderful tennis. But sometimes I think maybe I shouldn't be so obsessed. My grades this year ever since I started following Marat and tennis have dropped. (I'm a senior in high school and I got my first freaking B in a class ever. 89.1% in Calculus )
I wonder what it is about Marat that I just can't turn away from. I mean, I'm a very fickle person. I've been obsessed with other celebrities before (Chinese actors, Japanese actors, French classical actors, Hollywood actors, you name it) and during those obsessed times, it was just as crazy as my obsession with Marat. But I stopped caring about them (like at all) after at most two months. But with Marat, it's been almost a year. It's so crazy. But starting this fall, I don't think I'll have time with him anymore since I'm going to a competitive Ivy League school and my school work has to take top priority.


Um... this is too long. Sorry

[maratisgr8t]

I wouldnt have considered myself a Marat fan until this year, so I havent been a particular fan of his for all that long. Originally I was a Sampras fan, and then when he retired I had to find someone else to like, so I started to like Roger. Over the years I'd been lucky enough to see Marat play about 5 times, and he's just recently grown on me. I saw him at the Aussie Open in January and now I really go for him, more than Roger. He's definitely the best looking player on tour, and also the most interesting. I usually dislike players who get bad tempered and throw racquets, but with Marat I never found it as offensive as with other players. He just makes me laugh, when the other players irritate me - so how does he get away with it? I guess the reason is that he gets angry with himself, and doesn't usually abuse umpires or the crowd. He's always had a good sense of humour, and I knew that even back in the days when I liked Sampras better. He's altogether very charismatic and likeable.

[Jamie]

i guess there might be some topic similar to this one, is there? i'm not sure...

anyway, here is my answer ( it might be sorta silly...)

i first noticed MS at the end of 2000(or at the beginning of 2001?) because of a piece of ad in a magazine. i thought he was just a good-looking model ;D and asked my father why adidas choosed a model instead of some superstar just as they always did. my father laughed and told me the MODEL was just a SUPERSTAR and his name is Marat Safin. but there was no tennis match on tv at that time in China so i can only get some tiny pieces of news from magazines, newspapers or my father. but his fav is Andre Agassi so he didn't want to pay much attention to the Russia young man for me
it was in 2002 that i finally started to watch the complete matches( not only the highlights) of marat. and that was also when i began to visit TGFR.
soccer had long been my fav sports, but since then i had to cut down the time i spent on soccer so that i could have more time to enjoy tennis.
at the end of 2002, he came to shanghai. then the newspapers were covered by the 8 'masters' and it was the first time that i pointed at the pic and told my friends proudly -- the tallest and most talented one was the one that i supported the most. (before then, i bafflingly veiled my obssesion with Marat)

it's most fantastic that the fact ' i love Marat Safin' always makes me feel proud of myself. i just cannot explain why but such feeling has accompanied me from the first day i decided to be with him.

[SAFINNO1]

Just to keep it short and brief.

My brother met Goran and told him about Marat ( at wimbledon 2000) and since i was farily interested in Tennis i was always watching the US Open from the 1st till last day and when i watched that Final. The rest was History and as i only had Internet access a couple of years ago i would now call myself a devoted fan thanks to TGFR.com. I cannot stop thinking about Marat and posting on this site as i dont wanna miss a think.

Peace

[mackiemad]

where to start? my love affair with marat (okay so it is only in my head...) started ages ago.
i have always played tennis and done a fair few comps and i always had my favourite players. but when i was young i had some dreams of making it on the junior tour and so i found out a lot about the kids around at the time, one of whom was marat. anyway didn't see him but heard about him. when he turned pro i finally saw him play in a video on the net and although the resolution was crap i could see he was a good player. later when i saw him for real and saw how damn attractive he is i was utterly hooked. he is an awesome player and so entertaining to watch (as well as the hotness factor). i always go to the aussie open as my family are all tennis fans. as i grew up and realised i probably wasn't good enough to ever go pro i started to not forget about tennis but it wasn't as important to me as my other sport, dressage, so i don't really follow anyone else but marat. i still go to the aus open though...perhaps only to see him play. although i probably should have stuck with tennis and not riding cos it is much cheaper!

[Vivenne]

I don't know~~I can't remember
I just can remember that he always angry in every matches, then it makes me pay attention on him ;D ;D
It's so simple, right? ;D ;D

[lau]

A friend was in Boston in 1999 (lucky girl!). She was there in the exact moment that Marat won his first title and told me about Marat when she came back home. I started to pay attention to his career after that..... By the time he came to play Davis Cup to Argentina in April 2003 I was a huge fan ;D

[Dalila]

I've start to appreciate Marat by looking at he playing Roland Garros in 98. I've find he plays very well for a young boy. He's an excellent player in spite of his jumps of mood! He's able to astonish us each time, so much he has talent but he must work still much to reach the top!

[Lucitienne]

I have loved Marat since 2001, when he played this crazy match, where his legs almost gave out. I was saying, "Come on Safin, Come on..." I didn't even know why, but I did know that I was watching a darn good tennis player. What do you know?

Lucitienne

[mara]

i love marat since his semifinal with sampras..usopen 2001..when the hall arena was supporting sampras&marat should won the 2nd set..but the referee has made a big mistake... ;D

[Marie]

I´m a fan of him since 2000. I saw him the first time at the French Open, but didn´t like him so much
But then at the end of the year, beginning of 2001 I started to really appreciate him
He looks so good, is charismatic, and I prefer his game in front of all the other games on the tour, his backhand, hmm

[Satin]

I only became a fan when he played @ the australien opens. He looked soooooo sexy. Normally I don't watch tennis, but since i know that marat is on cort I allways watch, evan though i don't know the rulez of tennis, but he is worth watching. And then when he switches somethimes his shirt, i get totaly lonney

[Jamie]

welcome, satin!

actually, i didn't care much about tennis until i had a crush on marat. but soon after i began to watch tennis it turned to be my fav sports.

[annie]

Well as for me, I have been a huge tennis fan since school (ermmm I am so old I can't even remember the exact year LOL) and being Russian very closely followed Russian players like Volkov, Chesnokov, Kafelnikov, etc.

My all time hero was Pete Sampras, I used to watch and tape every single match they used to show on Russian TV (which was at times when he still had no cable here so there weren't that many) and I used to be absolutely hypnotised in front of the TV when he was on court. Then USA Open 2000 hapenned and there I was...totally speechless Russian whose all-time hero was beaten by a young, handsome and soooooooooo promising Russian guy ;D Ever since that match (I still have it on tape and watch it every once in a while) I have been a total Safinnomaniac.

The funniest thing of it all is that never ever in my life have I even held a tennis racquet in my hands, let alone play tennis. ;D

[ashitha]

ok this is how i became a fan:
frankly before i saw marat i was not into tennis. i just knew the top players like sampras, agassi etc.
the first time i saw marat was on tv when he won tms toronto in 2000. i moment i saw him something clicked. i'd never seen a more gorgeous guy in my life and he was a damn good player too. i didnt know much about the atp tour and all. but seeing marat got me real interested. a month later he won the US OPEN and i became a full fledged fan. now i watch tennis a lot even though i,ve never played the game.
i remember him a the presentation ceremony at tms toronto wearing that hat and iwas totally hooked. i coundnt believe he looked so cute.

i think being marats fan has got me to know more about tennis. the tecnical aspects , shots etc. i even watch the womens tour a lot. tennis has become my favourite sport since.

i've been following his exploits ever since.
i dont post a lot on the msg boards but i do login to this site a lot and the read interesting comments. i think the guys here r all dedicated marat fans.

hugs to all ;D