Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

Not your average athlete

Arizona Summer Wildcat

It seems that bad things often happen to good people. The death of UA baseball player Kelsey Osburn Monday night was a testament to that fact.

Osburn was joined by current players, friends and coaches in his New York hospital room for most of the six days he spent in a coma. All were hoping, against odds, for a recovery.

Unfortunately, support and prayer wasn't enough to keep him alive. Osburn passed away trying to beat the impossible. Seemingly for the first time in his short life, he was unable to rise above all odds.

Osburn, who succumbed to a head injury suffered playing summer baseball in Rochester, N.Y., was one of the good guys.

His teammates, coaches and friends were constantly lauding the little infielder for his sense of humor, his propensity for practical joking and his attitude.

As an athlete, Osburn was far from a typical bench player. In high school, the 5-foot-7 infielder played baseball at Sabino High School in Tucson and, to the surprise of some, was also the starting point guard on the basketball team.

Defying stereotypes set by his size, the point guard played consistent minutes on the hardwood and was voted to the second-team all-region squad as a senior.

After two seasons as a backup for the Wildcats, it appeared that Osburn was ready to become a fixture in the Arizona infield. The favorite to replace UA All-American Keoni DeRenne at shortstop for the 2001 season, Osburn appeared to have it all. Funny and popular, the sophomore was to spend the summer playing the game he loved. He was living every American kid's dream.

And then it happened. A freak accident snuffed out Osburn's life before he could prove to the world that he was as good an athlete as he was a person.

In his place, we are left with a hefty dose of perspective. So often in sports athletes and competitions are made out to be more than they really are. Fans and the media alike treat each game as if it were a life-or-death situation.

Sadly, it is only when an athlete physically dies that reality sets in. Only when fans are robbed of an athlete do they realize how unimportant sports are in the big picture.

Just 20 years old, Osburn seemed to understand that there was more to life than baseball. To those who knew him, Osburn's personality, not talent, defined him. That is why it is his attitude, more than his athleticism, that will be Osburn's legacy as an Arizona baseball player.

As a Wildcat, he wasn't blessed with Shelley Duncan's physical ability or Ben Diggins' intensity. Rather, it was Osburn's heart and personality that made him a positive influence both on and off the field as well as a tough competitor at the Division I level.

Even in death, Osburn will live on through others. In a statement, his family revealed that Osburn's organs will be donated to needy patients.

God help the person who gets his heart.