Sports World Mourns the Loss of Robin Williams

This is one of the hardest posts I have ever written. Now that it is confirmed that legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams has passed away at the age of 63 from an apparent suicide, the shocking news has hit pretty much all of us at the same time. It’s still almost surreal. Such a funny, kind and empathetic man taken from us way too early. 

Williams’ work is something that crossed generations. You knew him from Mork & Mindy as well as Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, but in between Williams enabled all of us to laugh through some hard times in our lives, even as he was going through his own demons. The legend once quipped that he decided to go to alcohol rehabilitation in Napa “to keep his options open.” In death, those words have gone from hilarious to what we can consider to be sobering.

Williams, who was going through deep depression, apparently took his life Monday afternoon in Tiburon, California.

This is one of my ways to mourn, as the death of Mr. Williams has had a major impact on all us of in its own way. But the impact of his life and work was felt more in the San Francisco Bay Area than anywhere else. It’s beyond description. I grew up on Mork & Mindy stories, watched reruns of the show, had Mork suspenders. Heck, my mother even once said that my first word was “Nana, Nanu,” a legendary saying from the television show.

Needless to say, Williams’ life and career impacted us all in a different way.

And here is how some in the sports world, just one of the realms that he impacted a great deal, responded.

https://twitter.com/TorreySmithWR/status/498986809209413633

https://twitter.com/QuentinTravers/status/498984957126393856

https://twitter.com/Tre9er/status/498979978646929411

Everyone will mourn Williams’ death in their own way. For me, it will be about remembering the career of one of the iconic individuals in the world. From “Live at the Met” back in the early 1980’s to his most recent famous standup on Broadway, Williams had an ability to make us all laugh about a wide range of different things.

Here are some clips of his sports-related acts that you must check out in memory of one of the greatest comedians ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3ZUPR1mPeQ

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Williams’ wife and his family during this most difficult time. We were all better with him in this world. Let’s make sure to keep him alive in memory by continuing to respect and pay homage to the life and career that was.

Photo: Fox Sports