Feeling close with players?

Have you ever felt so close with a player, whether you've met them or not, that if you woke up one morning and you found out that they were dead, you would start bawling? i remember when luc bourdon died and i cried for a long time. i didnt even know who he was before, but he was good friends with kris letang, and im a big fan of him, so i felt bad. my friends called me a whimp for this, but i was just wondering what other people thought and how they would respond if one of their favorite player's died or got seriously hurt.