I never would have expected myself to feel so sad about someone I never even met passing away. I live in SoCal and when Kobe died, people here were very upset, I even know some grown men who teared up over it. I felt bad for his family but thought it a little strange that people were so heavily invested in someone they did not know. I get it now, and I only watched Ty for one, short season. As fans, we may not know the players, but we celebrate their victories, feel sorrow in their defeats and just cheer for them win or lose. In this way we feel a connection to them. For someone so young who is just beginning to realize his potential and what the future had in store for him, to pass on is beyond tragic.
Keep on running Ty, you are missed.