You make no sense because it makes no sense. Frankly, we've had enough death around here. People die every day, and every single death is a tragedy. But some things hit us harder than others. Sports is many things, not the least of which is familiarity.
Fans form a bond with athletes they'll never meet.
We feel we know these guys, whether they play ball for the Yankees or the Sooners or the Midwest City Bombers. They become a part of our lives, and we don't plan on losing them except in the normal way of attrition. They are young and strong and having the time of their life, and death dare not call on such a body. Then a plane goes down, and Daniel Lawson and Nate Fleming are gone. They were Oklahoma State basketball players who spent little time on the court, but still they were part of us.