Sad Day

I am a reasonable person I know that something bad happening to your favorite sports team isn't a major blow in life. Following a team is something to do and give you a reason to watch games. Now I do it well and I 100% committed to my teams (Mets, Redskins, Lakers, WVU). I wouldn't even know how to think about switching favorite teams and I have a problem with people who do just that. You follow the team, not a certain player. You can have a certain player that is your favorite and follow them if they move to another team, but your favorite team doesn't change.
Anyway, I was awfully sad to see that Andrew Bynum is going to be out for the next 8-12. It almost made me sick to my stomach. It isn't because I don't think the Lakers can win without him, because they can and they will (enter Kobe Bryant's 61 points last night against the Knicks), but I feel horrible for Bynum.
Bynum was a risky draft pick for the Lakers in 2005. He was only 17 years old and really needed some work. Bynum struggled his first couple seasons in the NBA, but last year it just clicked. Bynum was playing at an All-Star level last year and then he loses the season to an injury in his left knee and the Lakers went on to lose in the NBA Finals because they just couldn't get tough inside. This year Bynum was again starting to play at an All-Star level and he hurts his right knee and now he is pretty much out for another year. I just feel awful for this kid. He has increased his level so much over the last couple of years and he is quickly becoming one of the best centers in the game, but he just can't catch a break.
The Lakers will be fine. I have the utmost convidence in Kobe Bryant's ability to lead this team to the Finals again this year and pull it out. He is the best player in the game (please don't try to argue that with me) and he was matured greatly over the last few years to become a team leader and he knows how to get these guys to play. Hopefully they can find a big man to bang around down there for the rest of the season, but if not, and the rest of the team can stay healthy, they will be fine. Bynum will also be fine. He is young and will bounce back, but you simply can help feeling sorry for a young man who seems to be doing everything right, on and off the court, and who has to sit and watch his team play everything night for the rest of the season through no fault of his own.