Miklos Feher - Who?

Here is the story.

Miklos Feher was a professional soccer player. Hungarian born, he was a right footed striker who played internationally in World Cup, and UEFA Cup qualifiers. He was tall, with arian features, shoulder length hair, and a muscly frame.

Here's where the tale takes a nasty spin. In 2004 Miklos was playing in a match in Guimaråes in northern Portugal for a pro club team, S.L. Benfica. Minutes after being substituted onto the pitch he received a yellow card for a questionable tackle. Seconds afterwards with all of the cameras intently recording his reaction to the penalty - he collapsed, had a massive heart attack, and went into cardiac arrest.

The most unimaginable thing about this story is that the game was being broadcasted live without a delay on a major European sports station. Thousands of viewers simply couldn't pull themselves away from television screens as they watched the tragedy unfold. They watched as Miklos' teammates and stadium medical staff attempted to revive his lifeless body. They cringed as the realization occurred that CPR was necessary, and they starred even more closely when the doctors stopped the compressions near the sidelines.

Millions were forced to deal with death in such a first hand state in real time. Forced to grieve, forced to contemplate, and forced to explain to loved ones what had happened.

So here is the deeper question ... Is our society so calloused that this is what it takes for us to be touched? Do we need to watch something horrific with blinkers on before we can take note of the how precious life is? In many ways our societies' screens shelter us from what is real. It hides us from poverty, from malnutrition, and from real trepidation. Somehow in the daily news one aging actresses skiing accident overshadows hundreds of killings in Kashmir. Often from the truth we can become squeamish, and we as people might be forced to feel, and then reflect.

So the real question is if the game had not have been televised would the impact of Miklos' death been as severe? Most likely not. Would his jersey had been retired? Yes. Would you have read this article and learned of his story? I am willing to say confidently no.

Are drastic celebrity tragedies like this the only way that our society can rediscover its humanity? Maybe you should judge for yourself. Here is the link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwRKwObXEOs&feature=related