I was thinking last night about the tragedies involved with team and individual sports away from the sport itself. As a fan of Indycar, I have witnessed horrific crashes and watched wrecks live on TV that took a life. I know that sick feeling of something going really wrong. I am thinking more about tragedies that took place away from the sport, but feel free to list any sporting tragedy. My top 5:
1. UE Plane crash - I was 13 and watching TV when the news came across the Evansville station I was watching. There was a coal strike and people were conserving power both inside and outside of their homes. It was also a cold and rainy evening. The news, the darkness, and the weather were a combination I will never forget. I have received a kick in the gut from other shocking news since, but this really affected me.
2. Cousin's plane crash - I had a second cousin a year older than me that was an all state basketball player from my parents' hometown in Illinois. I had met him at family reunions and he was the only other boy my age that always showed up. He had graduated high school and was going to play college basketball at a small school in Missouri. He had helped organize an FCA basketball camp for young kids at the local college. He made plans to fly with a family friend to a small airport in Tennessee to pick up Doug Collins. Collins had agreed to come lead the clinic. He had either just ended or was about to end his playing career and thinking about coaching. The small plane my cousin was in crashed near the airport Doug Collins was waiting at. I've always wanted to know what Doug Collins knew about the 18 year old that died in the plane.
3. Kobe and Gigi - This places third, but could easily turn out to be higher. I keep thinking about traveling with my daughter to AAU tournaments and dance competitions beginning at 6 years old. We traveled as a family. Any similar tragedy in our family would have involved all of us. At every level, I know the pride Kobe felt watching his daughter play the game he loved. I know Kobe was thinking about watching Gigi running down the court and happy they shared the feeling of competition. It hurts he died too young and that she died before she could live out her dreams. They were together and doing something they loved. It is difficult to accept when something positive like that turns tragic.
4. Dale Earnhardt - You didn't have to be a NASCAR fan to understand the impact of his death. I was still following the sport to some degree and watched the big races. It looked like a typical crash and not as severe as most that happen at 200 mph. Seeing the concern on the drivers that ran over to his car indicated something was wrong. Here again, he was racing with his son and trying to help him win. This accident changed the sport. Cars got safer and has probably saved lives. I grew less interested in that form of racing after Earnhardt's death to a point that I only watch 2 races. The first and the last.
5. Olympic Terrorism - I was very young, but I remember that I enjoyed watching the '72 Olympics. It was the first Olympics I was old enough to remember. With only 3 channels on our TV, I watched the coverage and learned about events I had never seen before. Instead of events being shown, they began showing a building with people in black hoods and weapons. This wasn't make believe or a movie. It was really happening.
1. UE Plane crash - I was 13 and watching TV when the news came across the Evansville station I was watching. There was a coal strike and people were conserving power both inside and outside of their homes. It was also a cold and rainy evening. The news, the darkness, and the weather were a combination I will never forget. I have received a kick in the gut from other shocking news since, but this really affected me.
2. Cousin's plane crash - I had a second cousin a year older than me that was an all state basketball player from my parents' hometown in Illinois. I had met him at family reunions and he was the only other boy my age that always showed up. He had graduated high school and was going to play college basketball at a small school in Missouri. He had helped organize an FCA basketball camp for young kids at the local college. He made plans to fly with a family friend to a small airport in Tennessee to pick up Doug Collins. Collins had agreed to come lead the clinic. He had either just ended or was about to end his playing career and thinking about coaching. The small plane my cousin was in crashed near the airport Doug Collins was waiting at. I've always wanted to know what Doug Collins knew about the 18 year old that died in the plane.
3. Kobe and Gigi - This places third, but could easily turn out to be higher. I keep thinking about traveling with my daughter to AAU tournaments and dance competitions beginning at 6 years old. We traveled as a family. Any similar tragedy in our family would have involved all of us. At every level, I know the pride Kobe felt watching his daughter play the game he loved. I know Kobe was thinking about watching Gigi running down the court and happy they shared the feeling of competition. It hurts he died too young and that she died before she could live out her dreams. They were together and doing something they loved. It is difficult to accept when something positive like that turns tragic.
4. Dale Earnhardt - You didn't have to be a NASCAR fan to understand the impact of his death. I was still following the sport to some degree and watched the big races. It looked like a typical crash and not as severe as most that happen at 200 mph. Seeing the concern on the drivers that ran over to his car indicated something was wrong. Here again, he was racing with his son and trying to help him win. This accident changed the sport. Cars got safer and has probably saved lives. I grew less interested in that form of racing after Earnhardt's death to a point that I only watch 2 races. The first and the last.
5. Olympic Terrorism - I was very young, but I remember that I enjoyed watching the '72 Olympics. It was the first Olympics I was old enough to remember. With only 3 channels on our TV, I watched the coverage and learned about events I had never seen before. Instead of events being shown, they began showing a building with people in black hoods and weapons. This wasn't make believe or a movie. It was really happening.
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