[Jack of Arcades]

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Hypothetical question:

If the football player who was wasn't a starter or elite player like Sean Taylor, would we be just as sad and have a thread this long about it?

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Is this wrong?

As a redskins fan I have watched Sean Taylor play many seasons and the excitement and skill level he brought to the game was very unique. In addition to the obvious heartbreaking tragedy of the murder, I will never get to see such a great young football player play again. Since I am a redskins and football fan in general, this is very sad for me.

I don't think it is right to guilt everybody into thinking they are bad people because they are bringing up the fact he was a great football player. We all are aware of how tragic murders are whether the victim is a famous football player or a random person. However, This is a sports forum, here we normally discuss great players more than bad players. I don't think we can be faulted for doing the same thing even in this situation.

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I guess the point is, can you be expected to seperate the "24 year old in the prime of his life died" aspect from the "Man I wont get to see a kickass football player any more" aspect of it. You wouldnt be all that broken up if he was just retiring, and you wouldnt be all that broken up if some random 24 yo got shot, but when you combine the two for some reason its a big deal. I'm not saying its wrong and I'm definitely not trying to make you feel bad about it or anything like that. However, it does put the lie to a bunch of platitudes and crap we claim to believe as a society.

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vhawk,

I expect it more has to do with name recognition, and not his actual ability (even though they are closely related). If a player who sucked but was really famous died it would probably be the same way (David Eckstein?). I suppose it has to do with people connecting with these players, or at least hearing their name a lot, meaning their life is affected by this person, even a little bit.