Saying goodbye

The waning days of August saw the retirement of two sports icons and honors given to one in happy retirement. The other Sunday, after Gilas Pilipinas carved out a convincing 68-56 victory over Iran in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, June Mar Fajardo announced his retirement from the national team. “Last ko na ito. Ginawa ko na nga yung buong magagawa ko,” he said post-game.

JMF has been with Gilas since 2013. In that last game he played just seven minutes in the second quarter, but it turned out to be a crucial seven minutes – his six points and two rebounds energized the team and turned an eight-point deficit at 21-29 into a three-point advantage at 34-31. The crowd’s wild cheering was the added boost the team needed.

The gentle giant from Cebu, The Kraken (it’s some kind of Scandinavian sea monster, I guess a tribute to his being a monster on court) isn’t just a force to reckon with on the hardcourt. Off court he is a gentleman, a role model not just for his teammates but other athletes and the youth who look up to basketball heroes. While he is said to be the highest paid player in the PBA, earning an estimated total of P75 million a year, there are no lifestyle scandals, ostentatious displays or wild episodes tied to him.

His 13 years wearing the Gilas uniform with PILIPINAS emblazoned on the front of his no. 15 jersey were his proudest moments, including the gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. In his later years with Gilas he was mentor and kuya to the younger players, who he now sees as carrying on the task of playing for flag and country: “Sila na yung magdadala ng national team. Sila na ang present at sila na rin ang future.”

JMF will continue playing with his home team San Miguel in the PBA.

On the global stage, Lionel Messi also announced his retirement from the national team of Argentina. After 21 years, it was a decision that “hurts me deeply,” but “I understand that the time has come…”

This came after the Messi-led Argentine team lost the World Cup final last July to Spain, failing to defend the championship they won in Qatar in 2022. In fact, he added as a PS in that Instagram post that showed a handwritten notebook entry in Spanish: “I wrote these words last July 21st, two days after the final. Today, after what happened to my dad, I am even more convinced than before.” His father Jorge died on Aug. 8.

Some have read in his words hints of not quite bitterness but the need to address past criticisms of his not having given his all for the national team: “I swear to you that I always gave it my all… I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football.”

He added: “I love, have loved and will always love being a part of the national team… I leave with the peace of mind and pride of having given you, together with my teammates, moments we could only have dreamed of.”

Messi was in six World Cups, three of them in the finals (2014, 2022 and 2026) and finally took the trophy in 2022. He was in seven Copa America campaigns, with Argentina finally winning in 2021 and 2024.

You have to be Argentine and love football as Argentines do to understand and appreciate the dynamics of it all. But for countless fans all over the world – including almost clueless ones like me – Messi is THE man on the pitch, and watching him is like watching a beautifully choreographed dance on grass. All football matches last Thursday in Argentina were paused at the 10th minute (10 was his jersey number) for a minute-long applause in tribute to him.

But Messi isn’t quite done with football. Like JMF, he will still be playing with his team Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, the top tier of professional soccer in the US and Canada (they really still don’t call it football).

Roger Federer said goodbye to professional tennis in 2021 in a singles match at Wimbledon, falling in the quarterfinals. He did play a doubles match at the Laver Cup in London a year later with, interestingly, his arch rival Rafael Nadal (they lost). On his first year of eligibility – after the required five-year retirement – Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

RF was not just a superb tennis player – although the numbers will prove this beyond doubt – but the words most associated with him are elegance, grace and a good person. In his almost 30-minute emotional – he is so mababaw ang luha – speech, he acknowledged and thanked not only his coaches and staff but the ballboys and linesmen (the latter now replaced by technology), the nameless, under-appreciated folks who make every match possible.

Top tier athletes like JMF, Messi and RF don’t really say goodbye and leave the sport. The gruelling demands of competitive sports tournament after tournament and the weight of carrying the expectations of your country year after year eventually take their toll – physically, emotionally. But, as Federer said, it isn’t really goodbye; the sport – basketball, football, tennis – will always be part of their lives.