Misconduct | Which athlete’s retirement had the most impact on you?

The section where journalists from the sports team The Press answer a question with pleasure.

Richard Labbe

We never really get over the departure of our idol, and it’s even worse when the idol in question gets pushed to the edge of the door. This is exactly what happened to Guy Lafleur. Ignored by his coach Jacques Lemaire, once his teammate, the one we simply called Guy, decided one fine day in November 1984 that he had had enough. If you believe that Quebec trembles when Juraj Slafkovsky skips two appearances, imagine what we must have felt when the idol of a people was pushed towards the exit like that, in a not very elegant way in more. Three years later, Guy decided to return, this time in the Rangers jersey. Thanks to my prestigious job as a dishwasher at the Forum restaurant, I even had the opportunity to witness his two goals live, blue sweater on my back, facing a stunned Patrick Roy. There will never be anyone like Guy again.

Nicholas Richard

How can we forget the scene? After losing in doubles with his friend and rival Rafael Nadal against Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock at the Laver Cup, Roger Federer was inconsolable. Like Nadal, by the way. Federer was perfect from start to finish of his career. Never a misstep, never a controversy. And as all athletes wish, Federer retired on his own terms, to his tournament, surrounded by his counterparts. I grew up admiring Federer, because he was the one who made me want to play Tennis for the first time. At my ripe age, very few of my idols of yesteryear have already retired. However, I experienced quite a shock when Federer hung up his racket, because it was a chapter of my life that ended. If Gordie Howe was Mr. Hockey, look no further than Mr. Tennis. Class, elegance and respect. This is why all his colleagues carried Roger like Rudy, at the end of their arms. An extraordinary moment which brought a few tears to my eyes, despite my certain virility.

Simon Drouin

Professionally, Erik Guay’s retirement had an impact on me. I was there in Lake Louise and his friend Manuel Osborne-Paradis had just crashed during a training descent. Erik then went down on the handbrake. I was listening to him in an interview and I spontaneously said to him: “You don’t speak like a guy who is going to continue. » The next morning, I received a call confirming that he was shooting the plogue. It did something to me. I followed almost his entire journey and knew how hard he worked to come back from another injury. On a personal level, Patrice Bergeron’s retirement saddened me. I also covered him early in my career, but as a Bruins fan, he gave me 19 extraordinary seasons, approaching every game with all the professionalism that characterized him. His absence is heavy, especially these days…

Guillaume Lefrançois

Let’s let colleagues talk about real sports and talk about wrestling. Ric Flair is one of the greatest wrestlers in history, and WWE, at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008, gave him the greatest retirement fight ever scripted. The story: Vince McMahon, years before falling from grace, uses his “authority” and announces that Flair will have to retire the next time he loses a fight. Then, Shawn Michaels, another of history’s greats, challenges Flair at WrestleMania, essentially the Super Bowl of wrestling. A simple, well-crafted story that served as an excuse for the two legends to deliver 20 minutes of high quality between cables, which they did. Any self-respecting wrestling fan will always remember the last seconds: Michaels looking at Flair, telling him “I’m sorry, I love you” (the production was ready, because it seems like it was arranged), then hitting him his famous mule kick, then stopping for a second before covering Flair for the count of 3, as if the fan in him didn’t want to send him into retirement. An anthology moment, with spectators shedding tears. There were cries even among our group of hooters at the brasserie Au coin du métro. Unfortunately, with Flair unable to stop, he returned to the arena a year and a half later, rather than leaving this masterpiece as a final memory for fans.

See Ric Flair’s retirement fight

Jean-François Tremblay

I have had many emotions related to retirements, but rarely like that of the greatest hockey player in the history of humanity, Mario Lemieux. In January 2006, he hung up his skates due to cardiac arrhythmia, but deep down, the Magnificent had experienced almost every page of the great medical dictionary during his career. He said this: “I can no longer play at the level I want and it’s very frustrating. Also, the new NHL is made for young players. There are several in Pittsburgh and the NHL who will have a bright future. » The level made unacceptable for Grand Mario was 22 points in 26 matches. He was also right about the bright future, with Sidney Crosby and Marc-André Fleury on the ice, and Kristopher Letang and Evgeni Malkin freshly drafted. It took a bit of foresight, mind you, because the terrible Penguins of 2006 are the version treated as “sawf” by Michel Therrien, and the one where Zigmund Palffy disappeared in the middle of the season as mysteriously as an assistant to David Copperfield, the Alain Choquette from the United States.

Mathias Brunet

I am obviously biased, even in a conflict of interest, having written his biography. But athletes able to end a career on their own terms are rare. Guy Lafleur was chased out of Montreal in 1983. Anthony Calvillo had a difficult final year in 2013, marked by conflicts with new coach Dan Hawkins. A concussion ended his career. In this context, the retirement in October 2017 of Patrice Bernier, former captain of the Montreal MLS soccer club, the Impact, now CF Montreal, is almost a miracle. We didn’t push him out. He announced his departure in advance. For his last match, RDS filmed his every move. His family obviously accompanied him to the Saputo stadium. To top it all off, Bernier got a penalty shot. He shook the stadium by scoring, to the delight of the 19,000 spectators, and his parents, Jean and Gladys, who were called to ring the famous bell at the stadium after the home team’s goals. A film script. To think that he had almost left the organization in the middle of a crisis a few years earlier, benched by coach Frank Klopas, and finally fired a few weeks later…