– Like a western hero, Federer waves to his most loyal fans once again
A year after his retirement, Roger Federer invited 280 fans on a trip to Lake Lucerne. They came from all over the world. Now the fan club is dissolving.
Published today at 11:36 am
Selfie with ship and cheering fans: Roger Federer on Lake Lucerne.
Photo: Facebook Roger Federer
When Roger Federer calls, people come. The Swiss resigned in September 2022 and now invited his most loyal fans to a boat trip on Lake Lucerne. Around 280 members of his fan club “fans4roger” traveled from all over the world to say goodbye to him on the cruise ship Diamant. From Brazil, India, Japan, the USA, Australia and of course from all over Europe.
The meeting was kept secret from the public in advance. Even after that, only a few details leaked out until Federer published some photos on Facebook and Instagram a few days ago. “We are known for not making a big deal out of everything,” says Doris Töpfer, who is responsible for fan meetings at the fan club. “It was a closed society.” In the many meetings that had taken place with the maestro over the years, mostly on the sidelines of the Swiss Indoors, there was one golden rule: cell phones were switched off.
«The management organized everything. We just had to inform our members.”
Doris spoon from the fan club
After Federer’s resignation, the fan club asked his management whether it would be possible to invite him to a final event. “We got the answer: Yes, but it wasn’t the fan club that was inviting, but Federer himself,” says Töpfer. «The management organized everything. It was just up to us to inform our members.” The date of the beginning of September was announced in April so that the die-hard Federer fans could keep the weekend free. The details about the event only became known much later.
“We speculated for a long time what it would be,” says German Doris Kording, who traveled from Lower Saxony. «But it wasn’t until we stood at the jetty in Lucerne that we knew there would be a boat trip. It said: This is our ship! But Roger doesn’t get on until later. So you don’t have to look for him.” When they boarded the ship, everyone received a baseball cap signed by Federer. At the first stop, in Meggenhorn, he and his parents Lynette and Robert joined us.
Posing for 280 photos
Federer is used to planning things meticulously throughout his career. He did that this time too. Which was probably necessary with this number of fans. Otherwise many would have been left disappointed. Kording says: “First Roger answered a few questions, then everyone was able to have a photo taken with him by a professional photographer and exchange a few words with him.” The photo will be sent to all participants by email.
Professionally prepared: All 280 fans were able to pose for a photo with Roger Federer on the ship.
Photo: Facebook Roger Federer
Everyone would have loved to chat with him all afternoon. But that didn’t work. There was a schedule to stick to. The fan club made sure of that. “If it went on for too long, I had to interrupt,” explains Töpfer. “But you know what Roger is like,” says Kording, “he’s always very talkative. Especially towards those he has known for a long time.”
The ability to make even such short encounters special for everyone is what sets Federer apart, says Kording. “He just has fun with it. You can feel that he appreciates the time and financial effort his fans have made to see him play all over the world. He was relaxed and funny. He is happy with where he is in life now. I think the fans are struggling more with the fact that he’s no longer on the tour than he is.”
Federer spent the entire afternoon on the ship, around four hours. A video crew from Swiss Tourism was also there and shot a short clip. His parents stayed in the background, but also talked to the fans. “We will remember this farewell very fondly,” says Loeffel from Emmental. «It was the icing on the cake. Especially since the weather was perfect too.”
Some contacts will remain, but many Federer fans will probably never meet again. The fan club, founded in 2005, will be dissolved at the end of the year. “Roger is no longer playing and he doesn’t know yet whether he will play show matches later,” says Töpfer.
But she will continue to pursue tennis and will be taking part in the Swiss Indoors again this time. She says: “Hopefully the Swiss Giele will make a breakthrough. I also like watching Alcaraz. But there will never be anyone like Roger again. Djokovic can win 30 Grand Slam titles, he will never have Roger’s aura.”
Pasta to finish
Federer then disembarked one station earlier. “We stayed on the ship at the pier in Lucerne for another two hours, the fan club offered a pasta buffet. “We were able to rave about the day again and say goodbye to each other in peace,” says Kording. She adds with a smile: “When Roger disembarked, the people on the jetty were quite amazed when they saw him and all the hustle and bustle.”
He waved to the ship from far away. Like a western hero riding off into the sunset.
More about Roger FedererSimon Graf is deputy. Head of the sports department and has been reporting on ice hockey and tennis for over 20 years. He studied history and German at the University of Zurich and wrote several sports books. His current one: “Inspiration Federer”.More information@SimonGraf1
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2023-09-20 09:36:40
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