life after soccer

I played my last organized soccer game yesterday (assuming i don't pull a Favre in six months).  Many have asked why i'm retiring.  There are a few reasons:

• About six or seven months ago, i landed hard on my right knee and that turned out to be what was likely a meniscus tear.  Given that this only bothered me when i kneeled, i only skipped a couple of games before getting back to it; playing was occasionally quite painful but not the "shit, i should stop right now" sort of pain.  The structural pain subsided eventually but the surrounding muscles are still a mess, stressing the joint in sporadically unexpected ways.  My right shoulder has also been giving me shit, with some rotator cuff issues that limit my range of motion.
• I had also started playing outdoor soccer in November and in our second or third game, the other team started a fight and their "fans" came onto the field, looking for trouble.  That one really sucked the joy out of the game for me.
• I've been paying the team fees for nearly five years and having people just walk away from the team without letting me know, requiring finding a replacement (or just absorbing the expense), was getting old (as well as dunning my teammates).

Until recently, the game was fun no matter the injuries or the lost money.  But once i recognized that the fun was gone, then everything else got bigger.  I've been playing at Off the Wall for over 8.5 years, and with my current team for nearly 7 years (although only one other guy remained from that original team).  That's plenty.  I had a tough time making my peace with it, but for the last month i've been looking forward to it being over.  And yet i kinda felt like crying as i drove home last night.  Today, though, my knee is bugging me.  So i think i'll be fine with retiring.