It's been a good summer for returning legends -- Lance Armstrong challenging in the Tour de France, Tom Watson nearly winning the British Open, Brett Favre on-and-off'ing the Vikings. (And that doesn't even include Michael Vick.) But now comes the news the biggest comeback of all is imminent.
Michael Schumacher has announced that he'll return to Formula One's Ferrari team on a limited basis, replacing Felipe Massa, who was critically injured during a practice run in Hungary last week. Schumacher's name might not mean much to a large swath of American fans, but worldwide, trust me, this is huge news.
Here's why. If Tiger Woods and Serena Williams had a baby, and Michael Jordan and Megan Fox had a baby, and those two babies met and had another baby, that baby would be Michael Schumacher. The 40-year-old German is a seven-time Formula One champion and a worldwide celebrity, controversial and charitable all at once.
Schumacher won 91 of the 250 races in his F1 career. He captured championships in 1994 and 1995, and then again every season from 2000 to 2004. He hit the billion-dollar mark in earnings -- that's billion with a "b" -- in 2005, beating Tiger Woods by an estimated five years. And he was every bit as controversial in F1 circles as Charles Barkley multiplied by Terrell Owens; two separate times, he was involved in late-season incidents that determined a season's champion. In one, he was exonerated; in the other, he was disqualified and lost the 1997 championship as a result.
He retired from F1 in 2006 but continues to race in occasional series like December's Race of Champions, a cross-series all-star race that included Carl Edwards. (In a head-to-head matchup, Edwards beat Schumacher.) Oh, and he also stays charitable, having given an estimated $50 million to charities over the course of his life.
Yeah, he's kind of a big deal.
So the question now is, how much does Schumacher have in the tank, so to speak? Schumacher was legendary for his ability to wring more from his engine than anybody else; how will age affect those abilities? Even Schumacher himself doesn't know.
"Though it is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me, it is also true that for team loyalty reasons I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation," Schumacher said in announcing his return. "But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge."
Schumacher returns to a changed F1. At the same time as he announced his return, BMW announced it will be pulling out of the series at the end of the season due to financial constraints. Expected to be competitive in 2009, BMW lagged far behind its peers, and is the second major automaker, after Honda, to bail out of the beleaguered F1 series. F1 officials strongly hinted that the teams' failure to accept controversial proposed cost controls led to BMW's departure, another shot in the ongoing battle between the sport and its teams.
It's not under ideal circumstances, then, but Michael Schumacher's return to Formula One could be just what the sport needs.
Schumacher to make comeback to replace Massa [AP via Yahoo! Sports]
BMW pulling out of Formula One [AP via Yahoo! Sports]
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