Which pro athlete retirement was the most emotional for you?

Entername

Entername

Professional
With Serena's tremendous career coming to a close tonight, it made me reflect on the year's of seeing great athlete's pulling the curtain on their careers. For me Serena retiring definitely humbles me in a sense because I've never watched tennis without Serena (began watching in 2005 for me) and there were times where it felt like she would play forever. Some other ones I remember are:

- Andre Agassi in 2006. My first favourite player; after only one year ish of watching tennis I had to see my favourite player retire, that was quite sad for 16 year old me

- Zinedine Zidane in 2006. It's such a shame how his career ended the way it did with the headbutt in the WC finals, I know it was technically his own wrong-doing but for the legend he is, he deserved better

- Justine Henin in 2008. I was in shock when I heard the news that the most dominant WTA player of the last few years was retiring while she was number one in the world; for those who watched tennis at the time, you'd remember that it came out of absolutely nowhere. I know she came back for a bit a few years later but she was never quite the same

- Michael Schumacher in 2012. I don't follow F1 as much as other sports but knowing what tragically happened to him shortly after, everytime I watch his last race on YouTube it gives me chilling goosebumps

- Derek Jeter in 2014. Despite being a Blue Jays fan, Jeter was easily one of my boyhood idols growing up. His last hit at Yankee stadium is still one of my fav memories in baseball and I got to watch him live in Yankee stadium that August for one last time

- Kobe Bryant in 2016. He dropped 60 in front of a packed house in Staples Centre; one of the most unbelievable scenes I've ever witnessed. I still can't believe he isn't with us anymore.

- Michael Phelps in 2016. Watching him at the Olympics inspired me to do competitive swimming in my high school days so when I realized we would never see him swim competitively again once Rio '16 concluded, it definitely made me a bit emotional

If he remained retired, it was really tough to see Murray announcing his retirement in early 2019 because I thought the big 4 were never gonna stop playing but obviously, he fought his way back into the top 100 since.
 
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Entername

Entername

Professional
Kralingen said:
Kobe for me, and I dislike him immensely. That was one of the most special moments in American sports history.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah that was one of the greatest nights in NBA history with Golden State getting their 73rd win of the season then Kobe dropping 60. And like you, I was never a Kobe fan and I can't recall myself every rooting for him and the Lakers as much as I did that night :D
 
ForehandDTL

ForehandDTL

Semi-Pro
Phelps, Kobe, Jeter? Lmao

Who was Phelps competition? Ryan Lockte?

Kobe was carried to title after title by Shaq. Put Fedr in his place and the Lakers still probably get a title, maybe 2. Not to mention, Kobe got his clock CLEANED by tier 3 players like Paul Pierce. He was hopeless without his daddy.

Jeter? rofllll
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
September 3, 2006.

bfae8f85f61627cec37faf4b4dea27c6--atp-tennis-sport-tennis.jpg
 
P

pj80

Legend
Entername said:
With Serena's tremendous career coming to a close tonight, it made me reflect on the year's of seeing great athlete's pulling the curtain on their careers. For me Serena retiring definitely humbles me in a sense because I've never watched tennis without Serena (began watching in 2005 for me) and there were times where it felt like she would play forever. Some other ones I remember are:

- Andre Agassi in 2006. My first favourite player; after only one year ish of watching tennis I had to see my favourite player retire, that was quite sad for 16 year old me

- Zinedine Zidane in 2006. It's such a shame how his career ended the way it did with the headbutt in the WC finals, I know it was technically his own wrong-doing but for the legend he is, he deserved better

- Justine Henin in 2008. I was in shock when I heard the news that the most dominant WTA player of the last few years was retiring while she was number one in the world; for those who watched tennis at the time, you'd remember that it came out of absolutely nowhere. I know she came back for a bit a few years later but she was never quite the same

- Michael Schumacher in 2012. I don't follow F1 as much as other sports but knowing what tragically happened to him shortly after, everytime I watch his last race on YouTube it gives me chilling goosebumps

- Derek Jeter in 2014. Despite being a Blue Jays fan, Jeter was easily one of my boyhood idols growing up. His last hit at Yankee stadium is still one of my fav memories in baseball and I got to watch him live in Yankee stadium that August for one last time

- Kobe Bryant in 2016. He dropped 60 in front of a packed house in Staples Centre; one of the most unbelievable scenes I've ever witnessed. I still can't believe he isn't with us anymore.

- Michael Phelps in 2016. Watching him at the Olympics inspired me to do competitive swimming in my high school days so when I realized we would never see him swim competitively again once Rio '16 concluded, it definitely made me a bit emotional

If he remained retired, it was really tough to see Murray announcing his retirement in early 2019 because I thought the big 4 were never gonna stop playing but obviously, he fought his way back into the top 100 since.
Click to expand...
Pistol Pete ceremony in 2003.
 
toby55555

toby55555

Hall of Fame
Alex Higgins, emotional in a sad way, he’d lost the plot by then. “No more snooker for the Hurricane”
 
M

Midaso240

Legend
Agassi, I suppose his farewell speech was a bit cheesy but he was my favourite player growing up so I definitely had a few tears. Roddick as well, I didn't like him early on in his career, but grew to quite like him in his later years on tour
 
M

Midaso240

Legend
ForehandDTL said:
Phelps, Kobe, Jeter? Lmao

Who was Phelps competition? Ryan Lockte?

Kobe was carried to title after title by Shaq. Put Fedr in his place and the Lakers still probably get a title, maybe 2. Not to mention, Kobe got his clock CLEANED by tier 3 players like Paul Pierce. He was hopeless without his daddy.

Jeter? rofllll
Click to expand...
What a load of rubbish. Shaq was incredible, one of the most dominant forces ever in his prime but Kobe was integral to that championship run and sometimes took over games in the final quarter when Shaq had fouled out. I could see them still winning a title with someone like Allen Iverson, but Fedr get outta here with that. And Kobe won 2 titles without Shaq or without any player named in the top 75 of all time
 
C

ChrisRF

Legend
For tennis players until now it's Boris Becker for me. I'm from Germany, and even though I was rather a Sampras fan in my childhood, Becker was omnipresent in local media here. In 1999 it was clear that he was playing his last tournament at Wimbledon. Every match could be his last, and then Rafter played an almost perfect match against him, and it was over. Sampras' own retirement was very unspectacular. He just made it official after a whole year without playing a match.

For all sports it was Usain Bolt. After Rio 2016 he wasn't that much interested in training anymore and just added one farewell season. He lost his last World Championship 100 m race and got an injury in the relay. As strange as it may sound, it clearly showed his time was up, so there is less to regret.

However, if he would have been interested and continued to take the sport seriously, I think he would have been an easy winner last year in Tokyo. Many sprinters are still top class with 35 these days, and the winning time was rather slow.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Certainly the most heartbreaking and compelling athlete farewell ever is one we may all have seen just a brief bit of on video, that of Lou Gehrig in 1939. All of the athletes above were heading into comfortable retirements, but Gehrig had just visited the Mayo Clinic and learned that he faced a horrible death, and soon, from ALS, more often today called Lou Gehrig Disease. His declaring himself "the luckiest man on the face of this Earth" is the piece many have seen replayed, but the other several paragraphs of the speech are as eloquent and as moving.
 
Federev

Federev

G.O.A.T.
Entername said:
With Serena's tremendous career coming to a close tonight, it made me reflect on the year's of seeing great athlete's pulling the curtain on their careers. For me Serena retiring definitely humbles me in a sense because I've never watched tennis without Serena (began watching in 2005 for me) and there were times where it felt like she would play forever. Some other ones I remember are:

- Andre Agassi in 2006. My first favourite player; after only one year ish of watching tennis I had to see my favourite player retire, that was quite sad for 16 year old me

- Zinedine Zidane in 2006. It's such a shame how his career ended the way it did with the headbutt in the WC finals, I know it was technically his own wrong-doing but for the legend he is, he deserved better

- Justine Henin in 2008. I was in shock when I heard the news that the most dominant WTA player of the last few years was retiring while she was number one in the world; for those who watched tennis at the time, you'd remember that it came out of absolutely nowhere. I know she came back for a bit a few years later but she was never quite the same

- Michael Schumacher in 2012. I don't follow F1 as much as other sports but knowing what tragically happened to him shortly after, everytime I watch his last race on YouTube it gives me chilling goosebumps

- Derek Jeter in 2014. Despite being a Blue Jays fan, Jeter was easily one of my boyhood idols growing up. His last hit at Yankee stadium is still one of my fav memories in baseball and I got to watch him live in Yankee stadium that August for one last time

- Kobe Bryant in 2016. He dropped 60 in front of a packed house in Staples Centre; one of the most unbelievable scenes I've ever witnessed. I still can't believe he isn't with us anymore.

- Michael Phelps in 2016. Watching him at the Olympics inspired me to do competitive swimming in my high school days so when I realized we would never see him swim competitively again once Rio '16 concluded, it definitely made me a bit emotional

If he remained retired, it was really tough to see Murray announcing his retirement in early 2019 because I thought the big 4 were never gonna stop playing but obviously, he fought his way back into the top 100 since.
Click to expand...
Jordan.

Then not Jordan.

Then Jordan,

Then not Jordan.

Then Jordan.

Then Brady.

Then not Brady.

Then Favre.

Then not Favre.

Then Favre.
 
T

Tennfan123

Legend
Sampras and Graf.
They were well timed. It was clear when they retired they would need to sooner or later.
I haven't found Agassi and Serena retirements emotional at all. They milked their careers to the max. I won't find Big 3 retirements at all sad, either. Maybe if they'd gone in the mid 2010s, I would have.
 
D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
When Michael Jordan retired from baseball it was the most emotional and exciting moment, knowing he'd probably be returning to basketball (y)
And it was very lucky, because he was getting better and better at baseball, and wanted to continue playing baseball but the lockout prevented that.
sddefault.jpg
 
M

mcs1970

Hall of Fame
Dirk Nowitzki. Followed him from the time he was a goofy looking kid stepping out of the plane to first come to Dallas, stayed with one team his whole career, greatness on the court, super nice, humble, and painfully shy off it. Going through the downs in 2006 and 2007 and finally carrying the team to that title in 2011. Genuine sadness when it was time for him to step away.

We have Luka now but there will never be another Dirk in terms of his professionalism on the court and humility off it.
 
D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
mcs1970 said:
Dirk Nowitzki. Followed him from the time he was a goofy looking kid stepping out of the plane to first come to Dallas, stayed with one team his whole career, greatness on the court, super nice, humble, and painfully shy off it. Going through the downs in 2006 and 2007 and finally carrying the team to that title in 2011. Genuine sadness when it was time for him to step away.

We have Luka now but there will never be another Dirk in terms of his professionalism on the court and humility off it.
Click to expand...
I agree, Dirk is squeaky clean in every department, whereas there is nothing good about Doncic other than his basketball skills, very disgusting persona on the court, and his commitment to fitness has been questionable too :whistle:
 
Federer and Del Potro

Federer and Del Potro

Bionic Poster
Brett Favre's hit me pretty hard. Sadly I haven't been happy with any of the stories about him post-retirement. But he was my childhood favorite athlete and his retirement felt like the end of my childhood. Also he was really cool when I got the chance to meet him.

I'm too old and grumpy these days to get too misty eyed about athletes retiring. Federer's might have been tough if he hadn't already been pseudo retired for 3+ years at this point.
 
MeatTornado

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Probably Jeter, since I'm a Yankees fan.

But ngl, this Serena retirement has me feeling weirder than anticipated. I've never been a fan of her, but she is one of the last athletes I can think of that's been around for as long as I've been watching sports (at least for the sports I watch). I remember tennis before Federer, I remember basketball before LeBron, I remember the NFL before Brady, I remember baseball before Pujols. But I don't remember tennis before the Williams sisters. Tiger is the only other one I can think of, but I don't really watch golf much at all.
 
J

jondice

Semi-Pro
Kobe is number one. He was my exact age. I'm from Los Angeles. Basketball is my fav sport and I was born a Lakers die hard. Kobe captivated me from day one.

For tennis, it's Andre. I was obsessed with him in high school. My best friend and I used to play "Andre v Pete" tennis matches. I was always Andre. And because I was better, Andre finally bested Pete!
 
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