farewell, andre

Oh, Andre, that picture just chokes me up. Every great athlete has that moment when he bids farewell to competitive sport, but how I wish this were not your moment. I’m just not ready! There’s so much you did to shake up a decorous, country-club game, turn it on its ear; so much you did to raise the standard of how the game is played. Really, truly, one of the greats.

So much to appreciate and remember:

That killer return of serve, the absolute best in the game
The way you hit the ball early, throwing opponents off-balance
Those impossibly deep angles you played
The way you wore players down, working them back and forth from your perch in the center baseline
Your one-time wild and bushy hairdo
Your long-time smooth and shiny head
Your goofy, slightly pidgeon-toed gait
Your huge early 90s “Image is Everything” persona
That Sampras/Agassi rivalry
(And even though he won more of your head-to-head matches, I’ve always liked you better than that goodie-goodie Sampras with those Groucho Marx eyebrows and those perfectly placed behaviors.)
Your career Grand Slam
Your wives:
Brooke
and Steffi
Wimbledon 1991 — You wore whites! You wore the whites — which is tradition but still, you managed to shock everyone because no one EVER thought the neon king would wear the traditional whites.
Wimbledon 1992 — You WON! And critics thought you couldn’t win on grass.
Wimbledon 200 — 5-set semifinal nailbiter against Australian hottie Patrick Rafter. You lost …. but, seriously, that match was amazing.
U.S. Open 2006 — An insane 5-set victory on Saturday against Marcos Baghdatis, both players injured, but still swinging away, both fighting like crazy through the pain, ferocious to win. You did.

But today, it ended. And you, the one-time Image King, showed graciousness and humility and class and brought anyone who watched you to tears with this:

“Thanks. The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I’ve found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I’ve found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you.”

No, thank you, Andre, my favorite, for the years of joy watching you rattle the gates of the country club.