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[Diomedes]

yeah, a lot of fakers signalling their virtue...quick, let's get on the internet and show some tears over a dude we don't know

[Rome]

Everyone has lost someone close, so it’s natural to feel empathy for those left behind.

But going to his high school gym to leave flowers?  That’s just strange.  I’ve never dissolved into hysterics over the death of a stranger. 

So no, you’re not the only dead-inside robot, MDS.

[hunt]

if you're a fan of the nba, you've followed kobe since he was a teenager...so it's natural to mourn his death...the fact that his daughter passed as well makes it even more tragic...well, if you're an actual human.

[Geowhizzer]

Is it the same as losing one of my own?  No, not quite, but when you follow someone's career for a long time, psychologically you grow a bond with the person, so there will be a sense of loss even if you did not truly know them personally.

For me, Harry the K had more of a sense of personal loss because of the degree to which my childhood fandom was tied to his voice.  With Kobe, it's more of a "wow" because of his youth and the more unexpected manner of death, as well as empathy for the families involved and their tragic loss.

[PhillyPhreak54]

if you're a fan of the nba, you've followed kobe since he was a teenager...so it's natural to mourn his death...the fact that his daughter passed as well makes it even more tragic...well, if you're an actual human.

pretty much

Celebrity deaths that have a holy shtein effect on me are few and far between. But this is one where it shook me especially since his daughter was with him.

I found out while paying to park at the Houston Auto Show and the attendant told me. Everyone there was talking about it.

[Dre Day]

Hate the Lakers. Was never a Kobe fan. Was shocked he died so suddenly, especially with what happened the night before. I appreciate his place in basketball history. He farged up in the past but I grew to like him as a person. He was a huge Eagles fan and was a great father. The video of him celebrating holding his daughter after the birds won the SB showed he was just like us (he won 5 NBA championships and was still going nuts). Shame his daughter and other teens were onboard.

[QB Eagles]

I think Reggie was maybe the last shock sports death of someone with that elite stature inside his game. There have been shock deaths of young stars (Sean Taylor, Jose Fernandez), and guys who were Hall of Famers but not quite legends (Doc, Junior Seau). This is like a Clemente or Earnhardt type deal where the whole sport is paralyzed by an all-timer suddenly snatched away, and the NBA in 2020 is bigger worldwide than any of these other leagues were when they lost the big name.

I also find it odd how people react to celebrity deaths but it's an extension of how odd people act about celebrity lives.

[phattymatty]

I'm usually pretty dead inside, especially when it comes to celebrity deaths, but this one definitely hits harder than most. Did not expect to be so sad.  Maybe it was the age, we were in the same grade and a few months apart. 

[General_Failure]

The thing that really gets me about it is how I found out from a non-sports kid, so I guess he did have a little reach outside the basketball world.

Other than that, it's weird to hear that somebody your own age is dead. He was in high school like 25 miles from where everybody in my high school was talking about him going pro. Now I'm wondering if any of those people are dead.

[Diomedes]

I'm gonna legit weep when one of you bastiches dies.

Also, Big Brother:  when I die, please delete my account entirely, history and all.  It's easily the best record of my life and no one needs to read that shtein after I"m gone.

[PhillyPhreak54]

farg that we are printing out your history and plastering the grave site

[Diomedes]

I wince to think of some of the crap I posted during the Iraq war....oh Jesus I was insufferable.

[Don Ho]

Not as bad as the shtein I posted about Vietnam, oh wait only about two of you were alive than.

[Don Ho]

And what happened to our plan of drinking poison potion and the space ship coming to get us?  I thought we all agreed on this.

[Don Ho]

Tragic, absolutely.  Sad for his family and the other families dealing with this but is all this worship over the fact he was amazing at putting a round bouncy ball into a cylinder or he was an incredible person?  I never had anything against him, despise the Lakers but always respected Kobe. 

Strange, while watching Lebron surpass Kobe Saturday night for some strange reason I googled Kobe's reaction to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.  It was pretty awesome as it was verbatim how we all reacted to the last hail mary - fear, panic, anxiety, shock, ecstasy.