ESPN.com: MLB – Padres’ Darr killed in car accident
Jeez, it’s so sad, and somehow all the more so for us fans, because in some way we have this little connection. I’ve been gone the last two days because my grandmother is very sick and very old, and I went to visit her. She’s in a good place and seems to be as comfortable as she can be, given her many problems.
Geneticists say it is a tragedy for those who are physically strong and able to reproduce to die, but sitting with my grandma, who was born when Christy Mathewson was on the top of his game, it’s hard not to see an equal loss as her wit and ideas and spirit ebb.
I guess it was Darr’s spirit that got him into trouble, and his hubris (no seatbelt) that did him in. It may have been his fault but it’s still sad, certainly for those who loved him, but even for those of us who watched and sometimes admired what he could do. During the Olympics they used to call those moments of connection ABC contrived with the athletes Up Close and Personal.
It’s still a corny conceit, no matter what they call it, and given what we know about marketing it’s sordidly disingenuous, too, but there is no doubt that part of what we all love about sports is the way athletes help us connect with a wider swath of humanity.
For that reason I go to bed tonight thinking not only of my grandma, but also of a wife and two children, all of whom are terribly bewildered about their situations.