Sad to see you go...

[Mr. TM]

I am sure we can all think of that one player. They left your team, breaking your heart. Whether they wanted more money, they didn't fit in anymore, they had issues, or they wanted to go somewhere to win the big one. What is the player who left that broke your heart?

Carlos Delgado- I originally thought hard on this one. Was Naslund the man who broke my heart? Linden before that? Nope. It wasn't even in hockey. Since I was a young lad, sitting in my uncle's living room wrestling around with him, there was one thing we would watch during the summer. Those boys of summer hitting the big shots. Carlos Delgado was my guy. Maybe it was the playing card I loved as a kid. Maybe it was seeing him belt it into the 5th balcony. Maybe it was his interview presence. Whatever it was, Carlos Delgado was my man.

Then he broke my heart. After 11 years on the team, he would leave to the a warmer climate, moving to Florida. Money had run short, and Toronto and Delgado departed, as Delgado hit 4 home runs in one game to end his career.

Unfortunately, Delgado was gone, and not long after that, Rogers bought out the Blue Jays, and increased their payroll. With this increase, the Blue Jays probably could have signed Delgado, but I think either way, Delgado was going, as the Blue Jays would look for a different way to become a contender.

 

[NSL]

I automatically thought of one man, and it happened twice. Mark Messier leaving the Rangers brought me to tears when he ended up in Vancouver, and the team hasn't really been the same since. He did more for that team than anyone else had for over 50 years. When he came back, he was a slowed down version of himself, but it was still a great sight. His retirement was something everyone saw coming, but it still sucked to see him go. I have the ceremony where they retired his number on tape somewhere, but I refuse to watch it.

The only other one that ever got me so close to "choked up" was Brian Leetch. He had been the face of the franchise, along with Messier, for so long, and his leaving was terrible to watch.

 

[Freddy4190]

Assuming retirement counts, i'm going with Michael Strahan. Michael Strahan was my favorite, still is my favorite football player. The man was an absolute monster on the football field and when I heard he was retiring, my heart dropped. Was I at all suprised? Nah, not at all. The man had a lengthy career, and he topped it all off with a wonderful Super Bowl win. I don't blame him for retiring. It just sucked, because every Giants game I watched after that just lacked that big blue #92 coming around the line and sacking the hell out of whatever poor sap played QB. Gotta love Mike.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Being a Philadelphia Fan, I’ve seen this happen over and over again. We’ve had Stars like Reggie White, Randal Cunningham, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Brian Dawkins, among many others in the Eagles, Flyers, Phillies and Sixers. They way I look at it, I’m a "Philadelphia Teams" Fan, not so much the individual players Fan. If you leave the City of Brotherly Love and you play for another team, I’ll respect you, but the Love is gone. Now if one retires, of course, I’ll reminisce of the Love we once had, but like an Ex, it’s best to keep the past behind us.

 

[rony31]

A few come to mind, but the one that hit me hardest was when Cujo left the Leafs for the Red Wings. I had posters of him all over my room and was devastated while watching his press conference in which he announced his signing with the Wings. Had tears in my eyes, not gonna lie.

Another one was Andriy Shevchenko leaving AC Milan for Chelsea because his wife wanted to live in an English-speaking environment for the kids. He was one of the best strikers in the world while at Milan, flopped horribly in the English league, came back on loan to Milan last season where he was virtually useless and unused for the most part, and now back to warming the bench at Chelsea. He was my favourite player and I bought his jersey the last season he was at Milan, little knowing that he`d be leaving at the end of the season. For the final match of that season he actually sat in the stands with the Milan ultra-fans where he actually cried and waved goodbye while fans around him hugged him and begged him not to leave. That was hard to watch.

 

[Cowboyfromhell]

Being a Philadelphia Fan, I’ve seen this happen over and over again. We’ve had Stars like Reggie White, Randal Cunningham, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Brian Dawkins, among many others in the Eagles, Flyers, Phillies and Sixers. They way I look at it, I’m a "Philadelphia Teams" Fan, not so much the individual players Fan. If you leave the City of Brotherly Love and you play for another team, I’ll respect you, but the Love is gone. Now if one retires, of course, I’ll reminisce of the Love we once had, but like an Ex, it’s best to keep the past behind us.

I am a Philly fan and I agree with this statement to an extent. If a player leaves on his own accord when the team wants him back, then I am not as sad. But when it is better that the player move on, for both parties (Pat Burrell) then I will always have a place in my heart for them.
I think Dawkins is in the Pat Burrell category. It's better that he moved on. I'll miss number 20, but he just isn't the player he was and to see him not starting would have broken my heart.

 

[Baller]

Just to say I am a Marlin fan and getting Delgado was the reason why i bought season tickets that year.

Now anyway back to the question. I am going to have to go with when Jason Taylor signed with the Washington Redskins after leaving the Dolphins. This man was the Miami Dolphins heart and soul, he was one of the only names you actually heard of the year of the 1-15 record, and it was heartbreaking for him to leave

 

[Khalifa]

I was sad when Reggie Miller left the pacers. the Pacers aren't my team but Reggie was one of my favourite players. He was such a great shot and played every situation like it was his last. He did so much for the Pacers and I am glad he didn't leave or got traded away form the pacers like Chris Webber did from the kings.

I will always remember Reggie as the person that killed the knicks and helped carry the Pacers to the NBA finals. He may not have been the greatest player in the world but he was one of the most loved and you can witness that at looking at a video of his farewell game. Everyone loved reggie. He wasn't dirty, he was fair. He wasn't a asshole to the community, he is basically the guy you would like in your team any time of the week.

 

[NSL]

I'm going to take this a different route, and name a coach that I was sad to see leave. Even if Mike Keenan was a jerk towards the players, he was a great fucking coach, and who knows what could have happened, had he been the coach when Gretzky came aboard.

As far as players go, one more that comes to mind is Mike Piazza. Sure, he wasn't a career Met, but he was easily one of our greatest players ever for his tenure with the team, and he'll go down as the best hitting catcher of all-time. He's said himself that if/when he goes to Cooperstown, he wants to go in wearing a Mets hat.

 

[jmt225]

Even though he was getting replaced by a fantastic quarterback, when Aaron Brooks left the New Orleans Saints, a part of my heart left as well. He is by far and large my favorite football player in history, and I was just heartbroken to see him leave the Saints. And what sucks even harder is that I couldn't even get the joy of watching him play somewhere else. When he went to the Raiders, he was protected by one of the absolute worst offensive lines in NFL History. And when he was released from those ********ers after that, no team has given him a shot, even though he's better than a few starting quarterbacks in the league, and better than I'd say 95% of the backup quarterbacks in the league. It feels like he's been blackballed, and that's a real fucking shame.

Ricky Williams leaving the Saints hurt a lotas well, even though like with Brooks, he was getting replaced with someone great in Deuce McAllister. Ricky would have to go down as my 2nd favorite player in history. I still remember to this day where I was when he broke the college football record in yards gain in a single season. It was Thanksgiving, and my entire family was watching the game, and when Ricky broke through and got the touchdown, while also breaking the record, we all went nuts. In my opinion, it's one of the greatest plays in football history, and I for one will never, ever forget it. Unfortunately though, when Ricky arrived to the Saints, he obtained some terrible injuries that kept him sidelined for most of his stay. But that didn't reduce my love for the dude. When he left... I was so disappointed, but at least I got to see him play well in Miami for a couple of years; I can't say the same for Brooks.

 

[The Bearded One]

I'm not going to lie, I literally cried when the Jaguars released Fred Taylor. He has been one of the best, and most underated, running backs in the NFL for the past decade. He got over early injury problems and had has himself a Hall of Fame career, having rushed for over 11,000 yards. The Jaguars released him because he is getting up there in age. While I understand that, I think he still has a good season or two left in him. He is the greatest player in Jaguars history, even over Tony Boselli and Jimmy Smith who are great, great players.

But there is an upside to it for Freddy T. He was picked up by the Patriots, so now he has a great opportunity to win the Super Bowl and cement himself into the Hall of Fame.

We're going to miss you Fred, thanks for everything you've done.

 

[CH David]

I have two, and it was roughly the same time that they left.

Frank Thomas. He was the face of the White Sox while he was on the team. He has set numerous offensive records for the team, and started that pace in the 90s. Then, after they won the World Series in 2005, they decided that Frank wasn't a part of the future as a player. I was really bummed that he left, especially with the negativity that went with it.

Aaron Rowand. This one hurts me more than Frank Thomas did, because Frank was pretty much on his last run, and I expected him to retire not too long after he left. Aaron was Chicago White Sox baseball as a whole. He plays the game hard nosed and dirty. Remember that play he made in Philly? He made plays like that all the time in Chicago, but he never got enough recognition for it, because he never broke his nose to save runs due to the outfield fence being a smidge higher at US Cellular Field than at Citizens Bank. He would run into walls, and sacrifice himself in a sense, to run down a ball. When he came back to claim his World Series ring the following year, he got the biggest ovation of anyone. I wish Kenny Williams could resign him, I'd go crazy.

 

[Theo Mays]

Hmm great question here. I'll do one from each of my 3 teams (Vikings, Sixers, and Phillies).

For the Sixers it was easily Allen Iverson. I always liked AI, but never really considered him one of my top players. Then he is traded and all of a sudden my interest in basketball disappears. I would die if Philly brought AI back, it would be incredible.

For the Phillies it is Marlon Byrd. Yes he isnt a household name, but when he joined the Phils I was in search for a favorite player. And some how Byrd got inserted in there and it stuck. When he was demoted I was devastated and then he got traded to the Nats and I was ready to cry. I'm glad he has found success in Texas.

And finally for the Vikings. This one comes down to two of the greatest WR to ever play. Randy Moss and Cris Carter. My two all time favorite WR to play the game. The Moss trade I expected, so it wasn't a shock, but I miss him more and more each season. And when Carter retired and then came back to Miami, I felt betrayed at first, but was happy he was coming back (though he did nothing with the Phins). Another one I considered is Korey Stringer, who as we know unfortunately passed away during a practice, but the kid was turning into a beast and a stud on the O-Line.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Brian Dawkins- hands down. I've moved on from his departure, but I was trembling of emotion when news struck me that he was merely visiting Denver. The impact this still has on Eagles fans is staggering. The man was the heart and soul of the defense for over a decade, and whenever you seen Dawk on the field you knew at least one person would be going all out. Now I see Dawkins wearing a putrid jersey, defined as one that isn't midnight green.

 

[Stormtrooper]

As a New York Jets fan, my favorite player that I saw play has to be Wayne Chrebet. Undrafted out of Hofstra, he got a tryout with the jets, and that training camp he jumped up the depth chart, and was starting his rookie year (which speaks to both his ability and the lack of talent at the position). After his second year, he set the record for most receptions in a players first 2 years in the league with 150.

Of his 580 career receptions (2nd behind Hall of Famer Don Maynard for the franchise record), 337 passes that made first downs, 126 of them converted third downs, a number which is staggering, especially considering:

A. He was 5'10" and weighed 188 lbs (undersized for a Wide Receiver)
B. He was an undrafted walk-on for the Jets.

His most valuable asset (and unfortunately his biggest problem) was his ability to go down the middle, and hold onto the ball. I can't remember Wayne Chrebet not catch a ball that hit his hands, no matter how hard he got hit. As is the case with all receivers who make plays down the middle of the field, Chrebet took a beating from Linebackers and Defensive Backs. Unfortunately, all those hits caught up to him eventually.

On November 6th, 2005, the Jets were trailing the San Diego Chargers with less then 2 minutes in the game. On a key third down, The Quarterback (I believe it was Vinny Testeverde) throws a pass to Chrebet, who goes up to catch ball, and get annihilated by the defender. As soon as he hit his head on the turf, you knew something was wrong, as the saying goes "The lights were on, but nobody was home." His season was over as he was diagnosed with his 13th concussion of his 11 year career (as with most players, there could have been more that were never diagnosed). My belief that his career was over was correct, unfortunately, because he announced his retirement during the proceeding off season. The thing about his career ending injury (and his career in general) that sticks out to me the most, is the fact that HE CAUGHT HE BALL. He always found a way (especially on Third Down) to catch the football, no matter how hard he was going to get hit.

Wayne Chrebet was never the most talented player in the NFL, or on his team. The way he played the game was what made him popular among the fans, but is unfortunately was also what ended his career, which is why I was sad to see him go.

 

[Baller]

I will do one for the Dolphins once again, and his name has been already said in this thread but for the Saints. Yes I'm talking about Ricky Williams. I was sleeping over a friends house and it was around 3 in the morning when we put on the TV and on breaking news on ESPN it said

Ricky Williams retires

. I almost cried when I saw that as he was the only star we had.