good bye, yao. you could have been one of the great ones but it just wasn't in the cards. while sad...a big part of me is glad the rockets can finally move on when the nba comes back after the "lost" season. i think everyone is a little tired of yao's injury-prone feet at this point...even yao. it was a good move for his health. his feet are happy.
It sucks for Rockets fan and NBA fans as a whole but its good for the sake of this team to finally move on to a new post yao era. Im a bit sad but also estatic because this team will finally move a different direction and never any more set backs with your superstar always going down with a major foot injury. Im just glad that the major disappointment of the Yao and Tmac duel is finally over for good and this team finally can go on a different path. Its still a long painful way back to the top but with Yao retiring, its a fresh start.
Damn. I can't think of anyone in recent memory who deserved to win more than Yao. He took everything anyone could throw at him in stride and just got better. The man did things the right way. Too bad about his damn feet. I love me some Yao. I'm glad he was a Rocket for his career; I hope he sticks around Houston. All the best, big guy. Thanks for the memories.
Thank you Yao Ming for giving us everything you had to give over the last 10 years. He's everything you'd want in a person and a sports hero. He handled everything thrown his way with class, grace, dignity & amazing composure. Only someone of his size & heart could carry the weight, hopes, and dreams of 1.3 billion people. If only his body was built to carry that same weight. Thank you, Yao!
Like with everything else he did on- and off-court, even Yao's retirement isn't a typical pro athlete's. He could've gotten a guaranteed contract from someone this year, "attempted" to play, then retired during the season (if there is one) and collected money for a couple of years. Instead, he did it the right way. Man, I am going to miss seeing this guy's face.
Truly sad. Like alot of others I was always frustrated with his injuries. But the guy gave it all he had and you never had to question his effort. Gonna miss ya big man.
Thank you for everything, Yao! You made us proud to call you a Houston Rocket. You'll always have a home here, Big Fella.
<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pk0MPyiJBbc?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pk0MPyiJBbc?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Thanks for the great moments Yao! It was fun while it lasted.
What a great guy... incredibly sad to see him go. However, I'm glad he chose life with two working legs than subjecting himself to the possibility of getting another injury! I have no doubt that even though he has retired, he will continue to impact the world in positive ways and I'm thankful that he will have his legs to help him in the endeavours. If continuing playing for the Rockets somehow affected his future able-bodiness, I would have felt tremendously guilty. This is the right way. Just a fantastic character and role model (Perhaps he can help train our younger guys)
Here’s to wishing Yao Ming the best in his retirement. You’ve changed the game on a global scale, both through your perseverance and work ethic. Not only are we losing an amazing player but also one of the most humble, upstanding individuals to ever set foot on the court. It’s been an amazing decade big guy, and the city of Houston will never forget you.
I'll always love you big guy. I've been moved to tears by sports only once, when Yao begged Keith Jones to let him back onto the court against the Lakers and finished the game on that cursed broken foot. When Yao was drafted all we could talk about was his size. Who would've thought that it was the size of his heart that we'll all remember.
