The tragedy that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant of the L-A Lakers and his 13 year old daughter and 7 others on that helicopter has struck hard and not only among Lakers fans and not only in the NBA.
Kobe Bryant was one of those professional athletes in many sports who become bigger than life.
They are in basketball, baseball, football, soccer and even golf as we saw this weekend at Torrey Pines where huge crowds following a friend of Kobe Bryant’s, Tiger Woods.
And when they suddenly die at a young age like Kobe Bryant or lose their lives from an illness at a far too young age like the Padres’ Tony Gwynn, they can become more real to us.
Superstars like Kobe Bryant and others like him draw lots of attention.With fans adoring them and rooting them on, they are far more than great athletes. They become super celebrities, like the big movie stars.
These mega sports celebrities are looked up to by multiple generations of kids.They can become bigger than life and almost unreal.
We can forget that they are people, real people, with families, with joys and struggles, highs and lows and all the things that go with being a human being. And losing one suddenly like this reminds us that, in the end, we are all alike, no matter what we do in life.
(Photo credit Getty Images)