A friend of a murdered 16-year-old boy made such an emotional farewell that the boy's favorite profession as a player to this day was the closest sports team. They walked his coffin to the ground where he ran the entire world around us throughout his childhood, taking care that he was able to score one more goal.
Alexander Martínez was also the boy killed in 2020, while young in Mexico. He was a promising footballer who had spent his life for years visiting friends in his neighborhood. The team did so with his dying and he made a great fitting farewell as well - he took such an affinity for soccer to win a lot.
They brought his coffin to the football field, placed it near the ball and gently pushed it forward so that he could score one last goal. Around them he’d been cheered but crying as he was turned into a tribute which integrated grief and celebration.
The act was not only symbolic; it showed us that sports can unite people and make sense (at least in some sense) even in a tragedy. His friend Alexander was obsessed with football and had a feeling that his last memory if it took place on the field would be victorious.
The video became viral quickly and thousands on the whole are in mourning and admiration. And an untold number of people describe it as the kindest tribute that has ever brought a close smile to others in the past or so it will feel.
Also, this farewell began some long-term conversations about youth violence and who should be held accountable. Alexander’s death was also a tangible marker of how fragile life is, and how communities often turn to shared traditions -- football or anything in particular -- to cope with loss.
The last objective epitomized the end for him but one in harmony of his heart. It illustrated that even in tragedy love and unity produce beauty.
It’s these few facts that the story of Alexander Martínez’s friends who helped him get his final goal that is truly symbolic of how communities are grieving and celebrating lives. It was not just football it was friendship, memory and dignity. And then there is the image of a coffin getting out of sight on the goal line that will stay in the hearts of people forever as an image of hope, love and an understanding that we must honour us after our friends have died or die.
