Saying Farewell In 2022

As we move into the final 10 days of 2022, it's time to start thinking about some year-end lists.  Next week, I'll get to some 2022 superlatives, as well as my athletes of the year, but I want to begin my look back at 2022 with those who said farewell.  Athletes retire in every sport every year, but I can't remember another year when there were so many high-profile retirements in so many different sports.

There was also a very high-profile un-retirement in 2022.  Tom Brady announced that he was retiring a week before the Super Bowl, only to change his mind before the season started and return to the Bucs.  Although, judging by the way he and the team have played this season, he may be second-guessing his decision to come back.  Whether Brady stays retired or turns into the new Brett Favre and we have to go through this every year with him, he's already got his next gig lined up as the lead analyst on FOX.

Brady's buddy Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to join him in Tampa, also retired again.  Gronk has shown no indication that he wants to come back a second time, so I'm assuming retirement No. 2 for him will take.  His is NOT the most notable NFL retirement of 2022, though.  That honor belongs to...

Ben Roethlisberger: Big Ben hung it up after 18 years with the Steelers.  Pittsburgh made the playoffs 12 times during that span, won two Super Bowls, and played in another.  Roethlisberger went 165-81-1 as a starter in the regular season and is ranked among the top 5 in NFL history in both passing yards and completions.  The funny thing is he was never really considered "great," not even when comparing him against his peers.  Regardless, there's no doubt he'll be getting a bust in Canton.

Albert Pujols: Remember when Albert got released by the Angels and we all thought he was done?  Well, I, for one, was thrilled to be proven wrong!  He returned to St. Louis for a farewell tour alongside good friend Yadi Molina.  Two Cardinals legends going out together.  And Albert looked like the Albert of old!  Just when we thought there wasn't any magic left, he won NL Comeback Player of the Year and reached the 700 home run milestone.

Roger Federer: His retirement announcement was classy, dignified and understated.  Would you expect anything less from a man who played with similar grace?  Roger wanted to come back on his terms after various injuries over the past few years, but his body wouldn't let him.  So, in a way, it's a little disappointing that he went out this way.  But, at the same time, it's also perfect.  Because he DID go out on his own terms.  He played a doubles match at the Laver Cup to close out his career.  Roger's chance to say goodbye.

Serena Williams: While careful not to call it "retirement," Serena announced prior to the US Open that she would "transition away from tennis."  Then the entire first week of the US Open turned into a well-deserved celebration of her career.  She has indicated that she may not be entirely done playing, but if she is, that was such a fitting send-off.  Serena Williams isn't just the most influential women's tennis player since Billie Jean King.  She's also one of the best of all-time.  If not THE best!

Sue Bird: Where do I start on Sue Bird?  Drafted No. 1 overall out of UConn in 2002, she spent her entire 20-year career in Seattle and led the Storm to four WNBA titles.  (Fun fact: the Mariners went that entire time without a playoff appearance before finally making it this season...after Bird retired!)  She's widely considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history and was Team USA's starting point guard for two decades, winning five Olympic gold medals and four World Championships in the process.

Allyson Felix: I had front row seats for what was supposed to be her final race--the mixed 4x400 relay final at the World Championships.  As it turns out, that wasn't her final race.  She got called upon to run the first round of the women's 4x400 relay later in the meet.  Then she closed out her career at a low-level meet in LA later in the summer.  And what a career it was!  Over the course of two decades, Allyson Felix went from sprinting prodigy to international star to a voice/advocate for mothers.

Shaun White: He didn't medal at his final Olympics.  He finished fourth.  Then had every other competitor in the men's halfpipe, including the three that beat him, congratulate and thank him.  Shaun White means that much to snowboarding.  The three medalists all did tricks that weren't even thinkable until he moved the sport forward for everybody...and thrust it into the mainstream.  The five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic champion's legacy is secure.

Zdeno Chara: It would be a cliche to say Zdeno Chara left big skates to fill (he's 6'9!), but it's true.  He spent 24 years in the NHL, most of them as the Bruins' captain.  Boston went to three Stanley Cup Finals and lifted the Cup in 2011, making him one of just four European-born captains to lead his team to the title.  Chara's also played more games as a defenseman than anyone in NHL history.  He spent his final season with the Islanders before signing a one-day contract with Boston to retire a Bruin.

The notable retirements weren't limited to just players, either.  A number of men's college basketball coaches (of varying ages) decided to call it a career, as well.  One in particular stands out above the rest.

Mike Krzyzewski: Coach K almost had the perfect ending.  Duke's NCAA Tournament run ended with a loss to archrival North Carolina in the Final Four.  He also lost to North Carolina in his final regular season game, so you know the Tar Heels will love those two little factoids.  That does absolutely nothing to tarnish everything that happened at Duke over 41 seasons from 1980-2022.  Coach K took a middling program and turned it into a national powerhouse.  Five National Championships, 13 Final Fours, 35 NCAA Tournament appearances, 15 ACC Tournament titles, more than 1100 wins.  Oh, and three Olympic gold medals as Head Coach of Team USA--teams that featured entirely NBA players.

And that's just a sampling of the athletes/coaches who called it a career in 2022.  There were others, of course.  But the nine who I just mentioned all left legacies that will lead to their respective sport's Hall of Fame in the not-too-distant future.