I've talked to a number of pro athletes about this in the past few days and also people in other aspects of the industry. In some cases there's been a very real pain to their comments, in others it's just been disbelief. I am kind of in the second category, though it did sting to see the memorial at L.A. Live and the people there with such heavy hearts.

On one hand, the reaction has been overwhelming. I'd be hard-pressed to think of another instance of this type of reaction for a sports star or, frankly, anyone in my lifetime in the United States. Maybe in South America (the deaths of Evita Peron, Elis Regina, Pablo Escobar and perhaps Andres Escobar), but in the States where we've got so fucking many famous people? No one.

On the other hand, the more reaction I see and the more discussion I hear, I don't know, the less it feels like something that actually happened. It's just surreal. The fact that a guy who elevated through and hung in mid-air falling out of the sky, the guy who matured and became so much more human and let his light shine in recent years just being snuffed out. It feels too cruel, too strange, almost fictional.