I was awestruck as I stepped onto Wrigley Field early Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect, the grass was trimmed in perfect squares and the grounds crew was putting the final touches around home plate.

Even though I bleed Cardinal red, standing on the “friendly confines” is enough to make any baseball fan feel like a six-year-old child again. I looked up at the packed stands and imagined hitting the game winner in the ninth inning. It was a dream come true. I was finally a major leaguer.

Then something hit me. Where were all the major leaguers?

There were no pitchers warming up in the bullpens or players stretching on the field. The Cubs dugout only had a couple coaches inside of it. All of the Cardinal helmets were in a row, but the only Cardinal jersey was on the batboy. Something was wrong.

I began listening to the conversations that were going on around me. The voices I was hearing were very serious and not what you would expect moments before one of the biggest rivalries in professional sports was set to begin. It seemed but a wild fabrication in my mind, but from what I heard, it seemed a player had died. Something was definitely wrong!

I asked some of the people who were whispering, and to my horror, it was true. A player had died. Darryl Kile had passed away in his sleep at the age of 33.

All the splendor of Wrigley Field disappeared as I plummeted back to reality. How could an athlete in great shape and no signs of illness pass away without any warning?

The crowd got restless as game time came and went with no sign of any players. Soon, Joe Girardi and much of the Cubs team came out of the clubhouse to inform everyone the game was cancelled. Girardi did not say exactly why there was going to be no game, but that there had been a tragedy in the Cardinal family. However, through radio announcements, almost all of the fans knew the extent of the tragedy only minutes later.

Many of the Cubs fans left, but many of the Cardinals fans stayed behind in their seats. Some Cardinal fans were on their cell phones, while others talked with each other about the news. As I saw others deep in thought, I could not help but think that everyone had the same thoughts.

I am sure everyone had thoughts of Kile’s wife, his three children and the void that is in now in their lives. Many of the fans knew about the charity work he was involved with for children and what a great person he was. However, I thought of something that was a little more personal to my life.

Recent arguments with my friends were now unimportant. I only felt lucky that I had such great friends that I can have arguments with. I thought of my family that I was so eager to leave when I began school. I am now thankful that I have the opportunity to see them again. The stress of finishing college and thinking of a future is now a blessing that I greet with open arms. The problems that seem too large to handle somehow seem much easier when placed on a larger scale.

I wish it did not take such a loss in the sporting world to learn such a life lesson. But I would like to thank Darryl Kile for all of the baseball memories, and more importantly, for teaching me to appreciate life and all that comes with it. You must appreciate the struggles with the triumphs and be careful not to let either go to your head.