Guys like Pirlo or even Giggs in football didn't win everything each year, but were always praised because they are/were modern legends in their sport. Federer in tennis also had a few rough years, and was always praised. You can find others in a lot of sports. A great champion or a legend will be one forever, rough times or not, and (at least some) people will always praise him/her for it. 

I can tell you with Rossi it's different, even Pirlo, who beeing a footballer should be waaaaaay more popular, is already getting ignored and just 6 months ago he played with Juventus and won the A series...

The issue is not with Rossi or Marquez but with Lorenzo. For Lorenzo to win the championship it's not simply enough for Rossi to finish second and Lorenzo win; he needs someone else (or more) to pad the places. Marquez is Spanish like Lorenzo and so the past couple races he's been deliberately toying with Rossi, in an attempt to hold him up and give Lorenzo the title. This is something Rossi expressed after the previous race also and it's pretty obvious he's doing this looking at them. The move in question, for example, would have taken both men out no doubt it's that idiotic so whilst I don't agree with the kick I think the way Marquez has been acting is churlish at best and so, it's down to the showdown in the final race.

I also heard Rossi would start from the back for that race; perhaps not. However this whole thing is a bit crazy because the last thing the sport needs is for the "final showdown" to be deprived due to such conduct.

I'm sorry but the whole "Marquez helps Lorenzo" story created by Rossi is, plain and simply, ridiculous. And the best proof is that Marquez went on to win the race after doing the fastest lap of the race in the last lap to beat Lorenzo. Why would someone that helps Lorenzo "toying" with Rossi do that? And why calling it "toying" when it was very clear that Marquez's problem in Phillip Islands was one corner that Marquez always, lap after lap, did wrong? You like F1 and you'll have seen the race today. Hamilton has always done the first corner bad. Was he toying with someone? No, he simply didn't know how to do it better.

Another proof against this whole theory is the fact that Rossi is Marquez's idol. Now, does he want to beat him? Of course! That's the dream of every kid in any sport, to be able to play with or against his idol and show him that he's as good if not better than him. It's not envy or anything bad, it's just the way to show his idol how hard he has worked to be like him.

And the idea that he's going to help Lorenzo (with whom he has had several incidents in the past, by the way) to defeat Rossi? Not a chance in hell. They don't like each other. And don't you even try to use the "but they are both spaniards so Marquez will help him" argument because even in Spain there are more people that prefer Rossi over Lorenzo. Oh, and by the way, why does that work with spaniard but not with italians? Because as far as I know, in Australia Rossi ended fourth after... who was he? Oh, yes, an italian named Iannone.

And now comes Cheste, in Valencia, a track that Rossi remembers very well because it was there where he lost a championship with Hayden. Oh, yeah, he's having cold sweats over the idea of history repeating.

Disclaimer: I've never liked Lorenzo. In fact, of the current spaniards in MotoGP I don't like Lorenzo, Barbera or Pol Espargaró (whose brother Aleix I think is much, much better than him).

So, after a couple of weeks where everything has gone out of control, things have gone back on track once riders arrived at Valencia. Thank God!

The CAS has dismissed Rossi's request and he'll have to start last.

And these are the results after the first two Free Practices:

FP1

1. Marquez
2. Lorenzo
3. Pedrosa
4. Dovizioso
5. Rossi

Lorenzo would win by 2 points if they end like this in the race.

FP2

1. Lorenzo
2. Pedrosa
3. Iannone
4. Rossi
5. Marquez

Lorenzo would win by 5 points if they end like this in the race.

Who do you think will win the championship? And the race?

This makes me wonder.

Where is our next gen Road Rash game?

Good luck if you expect it from EA.

But there's a "spiritual successor" called Road Redemption

http://www.roadredemption.com/