Johnny Tauer is an American psychologist, professor and basketball coach. He is the current head coach of the St. Thomas Tommies men's basketball team.[1][2] (wikipedia)
Most kids grew up in the Twin Cities dreaming of being Kirby Puckett.
As a function of us wanting to believe we can cheer our team on to victory, we feel much closer to those individuals.
I think we all feel, then, that that's a part of us that we invested a lot in that's now gone.
He allowed spectators to see his human side. He wasn't a chiseled athlete, like a Greek god or goddess.