"TGF" and the origins of the term

[EERO]

Every once in awhile, a new member will come to the board and wonder about the meaning of this strange acronym.


It is short for "That German Fellow", who is of course, Michael Schumacher. It was first popularized during the 1999 season when Michael Schumacher was unable to race due to his broken leg suffered on the first lap of the British GP in July. As his teammate, Eddie Irvine was closing in on the WDC, there was much discussion about whether Irvine or Hakkinen would triumph, and how "That German Fellow" would effect the championship when he returned.
I believe it was Liz who first popularized the term, but it was soon adopted by mant members of the board and shortened to "TGF" as it was easier to type than Schumacher's full name.

Many people have complained that it is an insulting term, but I prefer to think of it as an honorific, almost like "He Whose Name Shall Not be Spoken", recognizing that the current world of Formula One revolves so much aroud that one man.

It has given rise to other joking acronyms: TGFYB, "That German Fellow's Younger Brother"; TOGF, "That Other German Fellow," (Frentzen); and "TVSOGF" "That very small other German Fellow"


Several members have coined their own versions of what TGF means, including "The God of Ferrari" and "The German Ferrari". Moffat likes "That German F******"

So despite what some people may claim, "TGF" first meant "That German Fellow" and that is what most 10 tenthers mean when they use it.

Thanks to mariov, who recently attributed it (I'm hoping correctly) to Murray Walker.

[Jukebox]

I sure wouldn't want to know what the term TFG means that a few members in here uses

I'm new in here and i know that it refers to 'The German Fellow' but i'll stick to the meaning as what i've always referred him to be in my book. If someone asks me it'll be the one that i always refer him to be.

[Sato san]

I know what it means too !

[f1manoz]

'The German Fruitcake' is my understanding

[senna12]

I also had no idea what it meant when I first joined...I thought it stood for "tres grand fromage", or "the big cheese". Not in a stinky kind of way, of course.

[Dr. Austin]

He will have a new name when he kills someone (or more) with his antics. And those who support him will have their own mark they can proudly carve into their foreheads. Get your pocket knives ready.

With all the hostile Ralf slamming and Montoya assassination that goes on here, you would think the Schumacher fans would be a little less sensitive about what their guy is called. But they are sensitive because they know what he is. And they know they might just be like him. They like to hide behind his winning record, but all that proves is he wins. That doesn't say anything about the man's adversion to honor. It doesn't address his total lack of regard for sport. It doesn't address what an utter slap in the face it is to everyone when he talks about safety. Is safety "deliberate, but instinctual," Mikey?

So it is impossible to take any real pride in being a fan of TFG. Oh, we can hear from Schumacher fans how smart they are and how they are so much better than us who are too dumb to see how great he is. Go ahead and keep lying to yourself. Go ahead and run your personal life to Schumacher's rules and see how many of your friends permanetly flip you off. If you have friends with no honor, then you might be alright, but who needs that? Why would a person with any honor at all choose one as honorless as Schumacher for a hero?

Do you swerve in your personal life? Do you break the rules to screw all those around you? Do you deliberately endanger others with reckless and illegal antics? Do you talk about your breaking the rules as "alot of hot air" yet cry like a baby when someone does less to you? Do you committ deliberate (but instinctual) fouls, yet when others challenge you, it is suddenly "inappropriate?


No one has ever, ever disgraced himself and the sport with quite the shocking severity that Schumacher did in Jerez. It is bad enough that a professional did what TGF did, but the sport's champion? The word champion comes from the days of Authur when a Knight was chosen to defend someone's honor. Schumacher makes the word less than worthless with his tactics. Schumacher makes a mockery of the championship and the entire sport. This man is the best we have to offer? At least OJ simpson never tried to kill anyone on the field. Schumacher doesn't have that distinction.


And any normal human being who had regrets would stop that sort of behavior. But schumacher hasn't. and he won't. Someone is going to die. Write it down. Save this post. It is going to happen. One of schumacher's tricks (no matter who is doing it) is going to kill someone, maybe more. And if you are annoyed by this post, I promise I will torment you into sticking a pencil into your eyes when schumacher and/or his tactics cause the black day to come.

Is it really so important to be on the winning side that some people will excuse anything? I rather have a career with no wins and no accolades than to have tried to kill someone and won five titles. Giving up your honor is as permanent as losing your virginity. Once you lose your honor, it is GONE, baby! If you would trade your honor for five championship, then you really have no business discussion honor anymore, do you? Unless, of course, you want to comment on how honor is meaningless anyway.


And that is the difference. I'de rather have some honor in my life. No win is worth giving that up for. Of course, it really doesn't matter for Schumacher anymore. He gave up any claim he had to honor in Jerez. Maybe even Adelaide. Or Macau.

Maybe schumacher needs a new name everyone can agree on. Maybe THO. The honorless one.

[Mekola]

Another signification can be:
Trips, Graff von Ferrari

[Raoul Duke]

Hey Dr. A, I think you should know by now that logic simply has no place among these walls(where have I heard that one before?).

Some people simply can't see further then their noses.

[Sato san]

I think Honour is something that makes a good discussion . I would put somebody like Herbert down in this catagory .

Like the Doc says , whats more important A world chmapionship or holding your head up high ?. Someone like Johnny only won 3 gp's , 2 of them were very lucky i admit , but he could always hold his head up high , and others always speak of him with affection , even though , on his day he could be a bloody hard racer . You see , you can race hard without overstepping the line .

[Jay]

Thanks for the history lesson Eero! It brought back so many memories !

[Baby Spice]

Originally posted by senna12
I also had no idea what it meant when I first joined...I thought it stood for "tres grand fromage", or "the big cheese". Not in a stinky kind of way, of course.

When I was here at the first time, I know it refer to Michael Schumacher but I thought it was " The God Father". After all he is still the king of maFIA.

[Dr. Austin]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Baby Spice


The "maFIA."

hahahaha!!! That is toooooo classic!!!

[Dr. Austin]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Raoul Duke

"Some people simply can't see further then their noses."

Especially if it is jammed in Schumacher's butt.

[Muzza]

Doc, congratulations for your posting. Maybe we are both "too old" to enjoy F-1 as it is today.

Being a die-hard racing fan, I never thought I would lose my interest in F-1 as much as I did. FIA attitude towards Michael Schumacher's and Ferrari antics do not go in line with what I believe is the spirit of motorsport. Other aspects that made my passion for Formula 1 fade away are:

- limitation of number of team entries (I could not believe this when I heard it - this is la Cosa Nostra at its best);

- the category is now based on the involvement of major car manufacturing corporations, instead of racing car constructors, as in the past (oh, so you think this is alright? Then just ask sportscar fans like Dr. Austin, Aysedasi and me what does it do to the sport)

- the continuous, merciless destruction of almost all decent racing tracks, e. g. Interlagos, Estoril, Hockenheim, Paul Ricard.

- the addition of aseptic venues which are TV-friendly only, leaving technical and sportive consideration off square Examples are Magny-Cours (instead of Paul Ricard, or even Monthléry), Indianapolis (the infield is a joke - where is the promised figure-of-eight track?), Barcelona, Hungaroring (if you do not agree, let's debate about it).

- no matter what Ferrari does, it is right.

Yes, Doc, our times are gone. Schumacher's move on Hakkinen in Macau 1991 was a shame. Schumacher's attitude in Magny Cours 1993 was unnaceptable. Schumacher's chop in Damon Hill in Adelaide 1994 astonished me (some people keep on telling me that accidents are disgusting - well, THAT was what I call disgusting. If there is one single use for "viewer discretion" or "parental advisor" advises, it would be their use before showing Schumacher's moves on tv). And then comes Jerez 1997 (I was so ashamed that I turned the TV off). And so forth.

What about Schumacher's refusal to go back and drive his Ferrari in 1999, when he was fully recovered from his leg-braking accident in Silverstone? I am not an Irvine fan, but refusing to work for your teammate is too low, too low, no matter whom he/she is.

Unfortunately too many debates in the Ten Tenths F-1 forum degenerate into a useless "I love Schumacher" vs. "I hate Schumacher" junk war. Should we not - as Dr. Austin meant - be concerned with other aspects of the sport? What about the WAY a certain drive? What about the WAY he behaves? What about the WAY he wins?

But this is no longer important nowadays, is it? These are times of massified culture, individual shallowness, being cool, be-a-winner-not-a-loser, winning at any cost, instant gratification...

I miss Ronnie Peterson, Thierry Boutsen, Bob Wollek, Gilles Villeneuve, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Derek Bell, Jacques Laffite, Jack Brabham, Alessandro Zanardi, Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, Martin Brundle, Patrick Depailler, Stefan Bellof, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Chris Amon, Jim Clark...

True men don't kill coyotes.

Muzza

[EERO]

Originally posted by Muzza

What about Schumacher's refusal to go back and drive his Ferrari in 1999, when he was fully recovered from his leg-braking accident in Silverstone? I am not an Irvine fan, but refusing to work for your teammate is too low, too low, no matter whom he/she is.

Great posts, Muzza and Doc. Muzza, I was thinking odf this same idea ealier today, and the thing which stood out in my mind was the fact that six weeks after having the Last Rites read at his hospital Bedside, Niki Lauda was back in a Ferari at the Italian GP and depite the pain, the nightmares and the weakness he suffered following his horrific accident at the Nurburgring.
In '99, Schumacher was supposedly fit and ready to go within six to eight weeks, but he tarried at his doctor's advice. I'm not calling Schumacher a coward, but true courage was the scarred and pained Lauda getting back in a car.

Dr. Austin. I agree with much of what you say. If it comes down to honor, there is little today, but I fear your sermons are either preaching to the converted or numbing the infidel's senses without converting them. Perhaps more subtle and persistent messages would make the point over time.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by EERO


Schumacher was supposedly fit and ready to go within six to eight weeks, but he tarried at his doctor's advice. I'm not calling Schumacher a coward,

the difference i think (and i stand to be corrected) was that at the time of his accident lauda had a healthy lead in the championship and could stilll win it..........tgf couldn't, but didn't want to repay irvine all the help that eddie had given him over the 3 seasons that they had all ready drove together!

[Wrex]

OK people, before we get to far into whats turned into another "I hate Schumacher" thread, I think some of you have missed EERO's point.

I'm sure he did'nt start this thread to give the Schumacher lovers/haters yet another place to bla bla bla to each other about the same garbage used in every other thread.

I think the point was that at this site, offensive terms, no matter how disguised, are not appropriate here (regardless of the driver), and that TGF is'nt mean't to be either.

Personally, I choose not to use the term TGF, thats my choice. For those that like the shortcut, thats fine.

So for those that like him, and those that don't, keep it in perspective. Its just a name.

[Dr. Austin]

Muzza words sum it up for me, no doubt. Those of us who have spent our entire lives in love with motorSPORT are of sick heart these days. With every passing swerve, each cheap trick, racing becomes less and less sport. And everytime someone comes on and says all the cheap swerving is ok, a little more sport goes away.

The problem is most people here weren't watching when this was pure sport. All most of them remember is Senna and all his swerving about into Prost. Most people think that was sport, too, but it was the real beginning of sport's crucification.

Muzza and I had our young noses pressed up against the fence when all of this was something real. It was when people did this because they loved it and nothing more. It was so dangerous that it had better have been about love. The drivers knew they could very well be the next dead guy or they could kill thier buddy very easily. The real sport was to race and beat each other fairly with no cheap tricks. It was already stupidly dangerous as it was, and like today, there was no sense in just asking for it.

You do everything you can to provide the absolutely safest enviornment for racing to take place. We castrate the world's great circuits in the name of safety. We have these hideous phallic-nosed grooved tire monstrocities in the name of safety. Millions and millions of dollars are spent every year in complying with yet another year's saftey improvement rules. And then the drivers go and undo it all with stupid antics that are completely unnecessary.

With all the safety paranoia going around, just exactly what has caused the season's most frightening accidents this year? Swerving, that's what. So we totally emasculte the sport so the drivers can swerve around and crash into each other in relative safety. Hahahahaha! And you want to call that racing? Do you think that is sport? Aiming a deadly 200+mph projectile at another human being and daring them not to back off, that's sport? Those of us who were fortunate enough to see the sport's great days know what a joke it has become.

I suppose it is little wonder the passion for sport is now second to the will to win. Yes, it is great to win, but if it is not sport, you haven't won anything anyway. If the only reason someone is in racing is just to get rich and famous, look how rich and famous Senna is. It is doing him little good, though. And is there anyone here who would trade places with Sam Schmidt just to be rich and famous?

No, the success and the accolades have to be second to the love of sport or you are in for the wrong reasons. The money and fame is nice, but it is just not worth it for those reasons alone.

To risk so much it has to be about one thing and one thing only...SPORT. Everyone has forgotten that.

[race aficionado]

Originally posted by EERO


Great posts, Muzza and Doc.

Yes, I enjoyed them too.

Originally posted by EERO
Dr. Austin. I agree with much of what you say. If it comes down to honor, there is little today, but I fear your sermons are either preaching to the converted or numbing the infidel's senses without converting them. Perhaps more subtle and persistent messages would make the point over time.

The DR subtle? Nah! It wouldn't be the Dr.
He's more the straight to your face type of guy - but I have heard that he is/was a subtle proctologist.

Seriously, and diverting from the TGF name thread, (it's OK Wrex) - everytime I hear from veterans like Austin and Muzza, it makes me wish that I had been there then.

And at the same time, I realize very clearly that I am here right now, that I have a race car driver like Juan Pablo Montoya that excites me and makes me want to watch F1, and I do wishfully hope that I one day will experience fair, sportsmanlike Formula 1 race car driving races.

Right now, I am very aware that it is not so.

[eatapc]

Thanks for the ten-tenths history lesson, EERO. Good job.

As a counterpoint to Muzza's lengthy "F1 has gone to hell in a handbasket" post (some of which I agree with), let me just briefly reiterate something I've said before: I feel lucky to be an F1 fan today, witnessing on TV, and sometimes firsthand, the skill of one of the greatest drivers of all time, Michael Schumacher. I had a great time at Indy last year, even without a figure-8 track, and feel privileged to have witnessed three greats -- TGF, Mika and JPM -- giving it their all.

After qualifying, I was on the undperpass to the infield when TGF was being interviewed about 30 feet away. When I saw TGF, I took off my Montoya/BMW cap and put on my Schumacher/Ferrari cap (I also kept a JV/BAR cap in my bag). I climbed a railing and, along with many other fans in the vicinity, started clapping for TGF. Twice during the interview he turned around, laughed, waved, and gave us a thumbs up. My son was thrilled, and still is, that TGF waved at me. To tell you the truth, I consider TGF a better role model than most athletes, and better than many other great drivers, from Stirling Moss through Ayrton Senna.

[Dr. Austin]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by eatapc

"To tell you the truth, I consider TGF a better role model than most athletes, and better than many other great drivers, from Stirling Moss through Ayrton Senna."

You may as well just start carving the sixes into your forehead right now.

If you want to teach your son that nothing is more important than winning, no matter how many rules are broken, no matter who is killed, no matter what dirty tricks are pulled, Schumacher is the guy to be his role model. Be careful what you ask for. Keep telling him what a great sportsman "Mr. Deliberate But Instinctual" is.


Schumacher has on many occasions been a hair's breath from killing people with deliberately dangerous antics. Go ahead and teach your son what a good idea that is.

I'de like to see you try to discipline your son for a dirty trick after he says to you "But Schumacher pulls dirty tricks. Why can't I?" Go ahead and teach your son that the rules are meaningless for everyone but him. Just forget the rules and be like Schumacher.


Comparing Schumacher to a real man like Moss? Moss was one of the greatest sportsmen of all generations, but you say Schumacher is his equal? Anyone who has been following motorsports for more than five minutes see what folly that assertion is. You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but do you really approve of his tactics? Do you think Moss would have ever done something like that? Do you think Moss is not as good a role model because he never crashed into someone on purpose?

Deliberate, but instinctual.

[Raoul Duke]

Dr A, you da man!.

[Speed]

Originally posted by Raoul Duke
Dr A, you da man!.

My words exactly...

[Lee Janotta]

Doc, Muzza, great posts!

Victory at any cost is a hollow victory... A plain and simple message that Michael never learned.

[freud]

Schumacher is a great manipulator, a great businessman, not really a great driver.