A Tragic Death

Yesterday (8/8/09), a twenty-six-year-old Spaniard was found dead in his hotel room in Italy. As he was talking on the phone to his girlfriend in his room, he collapsed and apperantly suffered a systolic heart failure according to reports. Those reports came from the team the young man was playing for. Dani Jarque was the captain and defender for the Barcelona based club Espanyol. As a sports fan this type of event really seems to get to me. These athletes are supposed to be in prime physical condition, yet every couple of years (if not more often) there is a famous athlete that has a sudden death. If such a young, talented, and seemingly full of life man dies suddenly, what do us normal folk have to think about our own fate? To be honest, the chances of these fatalities are quite miniscule but whenever this type of thing happens, it is very hard not to sit back and reflect. I remember the day Darryl Kile died in a Chicago hotel room while he was with the St. Louis Cardinals in town to take on the Cubs back in 2002. Unlike Jarque, he was already in his 30's, but that is also way too young. Why does this happen to these guys? Is it going to happen to us? I hope not. It seems pretty natural that this might be forgotten and until the next tragic death occurs and once again we will begin reflecting. Then forget again, and so on. What we should do is remember this and make sure we take good care of our bodies and never overlook any irregularties. May you R.I.P Dani Jarque, you will not be forgotten.