I’ve watched (a bit late) @Simona_Halep’s win @RolandGarros and I think it’s enough of a milestone to come out of my springbernation and tell you about it.

By now, the news of her amazing feat have almost died out, replaced (at least in my own bubble) by those of Trump dumping on Trudeau. And slightly disconnected, as I am, I might have missed her win, were it not for YouTube’s Trending videos. (I do check out those regularly to see just what kind of silliness is popular these days; I also suspect the trending list is determined by certain geographic areas and it’s not personalized the way search results often are.) And lo and behold, somewhere in the top 10, as I recall, the Final Highlights.

I was so electrified by her win, I then watched the press conference, the WTA documentary, the TVR one again, the trophy photoshoot, the national anthem, baieti, ctp, etc.

As an “internationalist”, I don’t feel guilty or responsible for criminal or idiot Romanians and, consequently, I know that I have little to do with [the few] successful Romanians. But it’s different with Simona Halep. Especially now, when even Serena Williams didn’t hang up and congratulated her through a third party and she’s even more popular than Nadal (leq-we).

I (and many others like me, especially in diaspora) get immensely proud of her successes and feel a part of a greater whole in ways I haven’t felt in a while. Whenever she goes through a major victory, I am overwhelmed with excitement and pride and then I try to figure out why. I did very little to support her, her victories are entirely her own, and yet I feel so happy for her, as if we’re somehow related.

And she’s winning seemingly in flow. She’s calm, steady, centered and in a winning state of mind. She even has this fantastic chemistry with her opponents that seems to get stronger with every win, which is so good to watch, especially since it’s foundational to more wins. I know she’ll get a new Grand Slam soon – the question is, will it take two years or will it be in one year?

I suspect a big part of it is the fact that she is a symbol of grit, hard work and determination, in a country where most people are genetic determinists believing in a “talent” that you are born with. When they see someone like Halep repeatedly winning and prevailing against all odds, such idiots don’t see the work and sacrifices she had to put in, but rather a criticism of their worldview, a criticism they are unwilling or unable to consider.

One such imbecile is Gabriela Firea, Bucharest’s PSD Mayor, who just gave Simona the “key to the city” in a stadium ceremony attended by 20000 people. And while everybody applauded Simona Halep, the moment Firea took the stage, the chorus turned to loud, sustained boos, to the point where a visibly embarrassed and stiff Firea had to excuse herself “all I’m doing is give you the key”. Soon thereafter Firea scapegoated Soros.

And that brings me to the recent events surrounding DNA and Kovesi.

Sources / More info: lef-triomphal, ap-halep, wp-apfirea, tlg-fr, leq-we, gsp-tweets