When Mark Cuban sold his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo! in mid-1999 for a staggering US$5.04 billion in stock, he may have had full anticipation of the imminent end of the so-called "Dot.com bubble". Had he held on to his company for too long, or had he asked for a higher price, the deal would not have gone through quick enough to save him from becoming yet another victim of the crash.
Yet the deal was made just in time, and the fortune accumulated from the sale enabled him to buy the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for US$285 million, a floundering NBA team at the time. Unlike other owners who remain in the luxury boxes during the games, Cuban enjoys sitting with his players at the sidelines, often trash-talking and jawing with players and referees on the court, drawing him hefty fines and suspensions from the NBA on numerous occasions.
Like business transactions, timing is the most crucial element for sporting excellence.
When Jean Alesi (incidentally whose wife, Kumiko Goto, was a famous Japanese singer-cum-actress who has featured in the local movie "City Hunter") debuted for the now-defunct Tyrrell team in the French Grand Prix in 1989, he was one of the hottest prospects and his fourth-place finish only confirmed his star potential and immense talent. In the opening race at Phoenix in 1990, he led for the first 34 laps in the underpowered Tyrrell before being overtaken by Ayrton Senna, who would go on to win his second of three World Championship titles that year.
Another second place in Monaco that year further solidified his "can't-miss" status, and top teams at the time like Ferrari and Williams all fought for his signature in 1991. And being a French-Sicilian, Alesi decided to sign with his "home" team, Ferrari, who was about to enter a five-year period of downturn in form. It's difficult to imagine now, but the Ferrari in the early 1990s' was simply neither fast nor reliable. And during Alesi's tenure at Ferrari from 1991 to 1995, Ferrari won exactly TWO races (Germany in 1994 and Canada in 1995), the latter being Alesi's only ever victory in Formula One, on his 31st birthday no less.
Things would turn out very much different had he signed with Williams before the 1991 season. The early 90s' was one of the most glorious periods for the Williams team (or any team). Powered by Renault engines, they collected 39 victories during the period, and saw its drivers like Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost being crowned the World Champion in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Given his immense talent, it's hard to imagine how many races or World Championship title Alesi would have won, had he made the "correct" choice at that time.
Alesi joined Ferrari at the wrong time, and he left the team at an even worse time.
He left Ferrari in 1996 (together with teammate Gerhard Berger) and joined the Benetton team, in a swap deal which saw Michael Schumacher joining the prancing horse. Schumi went on to rewrite virtually the entire Formula One record books with the Ferrari team, while Alesi was never competitive as being handicapped by the underperforming Benetton, which had brought Schumi his first two World Championship titles in 1994 and 1995.
Alesi made the wrong career choice at the wrong time, but at least Lady Luck smiled on him once when he won the race in Canada in 1995. Unfortunately though, someone else in Formula One has had even poorer luck than the French-Sicilian, a name so familiar among the racing fans that many are still wondering what might have been had he enjoyed any luck and better timing.
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