Grateful and sad, the bittersweet farewell to 4 legends of sport

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Change can be difficult for many. And in sport, change can mean injury, team trades or retirement. It's hard to imagine your favourite player retiring. When I think of Christine Sinclair announcing her retirement, which she eventually will one day, I can't even manage the emotions that will flood my senses. As a life-long soccer lover, I can't even fathom the sport without her presence. 

Similarly, when I read the Vogue piece that tennis great Serena Williams had written to announce her retirement, I was stunned. Not only was her piece beautiful and heartfelt, but she was so candid about her feelings about the actual word "retirement" and how she was having difficulty using it. She played in the National Bank Open in Toronto the next day and was shown so much love. Deservedly so. Serena Williams has emerged to be the greatest player of all time and thinking about her not playing anymore feels sad even for casual fans of the sport. 

In the same timeframe, we also learned that two basketball greats — Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird — would be retiring from the WNBA. For those that know women's basketball, Fowles and Bird are stalwarts of the game. Women's basketball is increasing in popularity, much because of their contributions to the league and to basketball culture on and off the court. Bird, Team USA soccer star Alex Morgan, swimming phenom Simone Manuel and snowboarding champion Chloe Kim (all Olympic gold medallists) created a digital media company called TOGETHXR to amplify the success of women in sports. 

Fowles has the reputation of being one of the kindest and warmest souls to