Tuesday, 17 August 2021 | Pioneer
What happened to Messi shouldn’t have; but to Ross and Rachel, yes, definitely
The last fortnight has been serendipitous, to use the word rather loosely. Loosely, because of the two big-ticket news in the extra-curricular sphere that we speak of, one almost transpired before turning into a damp squib and the other ultimately did take place despite offering us hope till the last moment that it won’t come to such a pass. The developments in question are about F.R.I.E.N.D.S co-stars David Lawrence Schwimmer and Jennifer Joanna Aniston coming together as a couple in real life, and the talk about the larger-than-life footballer Lionel Andrés Messi bidding adieu to FC Barcelona after a 17-year stint with the Spanish powerhouse. The two telly stars from the iconic sitcom had in May dropped big hints about their affinity for each other. At the recording for the reunion of the comedy serial’s star cast (for a sitcom that stopped being made 17 years ago!), which they said had ‘stirred up’ their feelings, they admitted that they had secret crushes on each other (“We were crushing hard!”) while they were filming F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Then, after the reunion, Schwimmer apparently flew down to Aniston’s home in Los Angeles so they could visit a vineyard together.
The virtual space was agog: Finally, finally, after much ado and naysaying, it appeared that each one of them had ultimately discovered “my lobster” and the path to eternal bliss with their cherished soulmate. There’s something hopelessly romantic about seeing two grownups, in their 50s, who have both been beaten up by love in the past, finally finding happiness with an old flame that’s been lying dormant, but still ignited nevertheless. Without putting yourself out there at any risk of heartburn or what-not, it’s the sort of thing that allows you to live out your fantasies through them. But, alas, some things are too good to be true or last much longer beyond our hope-filled fancies. Like Schwimmer himself said at one point: “But it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship.” And now he has trashed the reports of him dating Jennifer, breaking the internet and the hearts of millions of fans across the globe. At the other end of the spectrum, Messi has joined French side Paris Saint-Germain after months of the “will-he, won’t he?” seesaw over quitting FC Barcelona, the one thing that his fans had been hoping against.
