APPRECIATE LIFE EVERYDAY

I woke up Sunday so excited for "Sunday Funday." I had prepared beef stew on Saturday night and cooked it in the slow cooker overnight. We had plans to make some chicken wings (which turned out great) and have a few cold ones while watching football. I was excited to see my Packers get some redemption. Then this happened...

Sickening news: Source confirms that #Marlins' Jose Fernandez was killed in boating accident. Statement coming from club shortly.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 25, 2016

No friggin' way. No friggin' way. I spent the next 10 minutes searching Twitter and refreshing the results. No way this was true. No way in hell.

It is true and it is devastating. Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident. One of the best pitchers, and best people, in the game lost his life in an accident.

I watched Don Mattingly's press conference and damn near shed a tear with him.

Marlins Manager Don Mattingly tearfully remembers the life and legacy of José Fernández. pic.twitter.com/BeuYgxHPHV

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 25, 2016

You can have everything going for you and in an instant, life is over. Sometimes there is no explanation why, sometimes it just happens and sometimes perhaps it was just your time. Whatever the circumstances, it doesn't make it easy.

Now one thing I saw that pissed me off were some Yankee fans saying that Jose Fernandez will never be a Yankee now. I swear. As true as that is though, that's pretty heartless. Jose Fernandez will now never be a father to the baby his girlfriend and he were expecting. He leaves behind family, friends and teammates.  Bottom line... being a Yankee or not is meaningless.

The Yankees have been losing lately, and honestly after reading about Jose Fernandez... I don't care. Sunday was a day of mourning to me... for all of us. Writing this is helping. A young man with a contagious smile and love for the game lost his life. It's something we will never be forgotten.

Jose Fernandez was the kind of kid you want your kid to be like. He overcame the biggest obstacle, escaping from Cuba, to follow a dream of playing Major League baseball in the USA.

In the words of Toby Keith "I'm not crying cause I feel so sorry for you, I'm crying for me." And more importantly, for your soon to be newborn baby, your family, friends and teammates.

I'm genuinely heartbroken. As Casey wrote Sunday on Twitter:

Very sad news about Jose Fernandez losing his life in a tragic accident. #PrayersfromBYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) September 25, 2016

Very sad, and still, days later, unreal.

#RIPJose

--Dan Lucia, BYB Senior Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @DManLucia