A self-confessed sports fan, Matthew Perry of Friends fame passed away on October 29, 2023. Here’s how the sports world reacted to the news.
Life almost took a very different turn for Matthew Perry. Born in Massachusetts and brought up in Canada, the actor, who would later capture the world’s heart with his beloved character Chandler Bing on the popular television show Friends, was on course to becoming a tennis player before a chance move to Los Angeles thwarted his dreams. (More Sports News)
“Giving up tennis wasn’t really a decision I had to make,” Perry told Men’s Health in 2012. “I was a very good tennis player in Ottawa, Canada — nationally ranked when I was, like, 13. Then I moved to Los Angeles when I was 15, and everyone in L.A. just killed me.
“I was pretty great in Canada. Not so much in Los Angeles. It was insane. I realized I wouldn’t be playing tennis for a living, so I went for acting.”
Perry remained a sports fan, however, especially professing his love for Tennis on several occasions through his social media account. At the apex of his fame, he even participated in several exhibition matches and was a common sight at the US Open tournaments of the bygone years.
A fan of the New York-based franchises, New York Knicks and New York Giants, in his TV role, Perry, it is believed, supported the New England Patriots and Toronto Blue Jays in real life. Given his frequent courtside appearances, however, one can say that the actor was, more than anything else, a fan of sports as a whole.
Perry’s passing was met with much grief, with even those from the sporting world chiming in with their tributes. Below are some of the same:
Matthew Perry starred in ten seasons of Friends, appearing in 236 episodes as one of the six main characters, Chandler Bing.