Life doesn’t ask for your name, how many Twitter followers you have, or if you’re the most influential person on Instagram.
It doesn’t care about your social status, when it happens, it happens.
Just ask Cristiano Ronaldo - the world’s biggest influencer on Instagram with over 425 million followers.
On Sunday he was the toast of the town, hitting a hattrick to save Manchester United in their 3-2 win over Norwich. Life was good.
Little side note to all his haters - at 37, the man is still in the top three goal-scorers in the Premier League with 15 strikes, albeit in a struggling Man United team. You’ve simply got to respect that.
But from the highest of highs when he hit that trademark free kick on Sunday, to the lowest of lows when he announced on Monday night that he had lost his baby boy - one half of his newborn twins. In the blink of an eye, that’s how fast things can change for you.
Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts: “It is with deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away.
“It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel.
“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.
“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.
“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.”
He subsequently missed Tuesday night’s big clash away at rivals Liverpool.
Then, one of the most heartening moments in the world of sport ever, as Anfield erupted in “You’ll Never Walk Alone” while a fan-led applause for the Man United legend was staged in the seventh minute.
Goosebumps stuff. Yes, the Reds went on to slaughter his team on the pitch.
But it was in that moment that fans worldwide should have realised that these titans of today are also just meagre mortals. They go through the same highs and lows as us regular folk do (despite earning a vrag geld), and are not immune to the effects of constant criticism and at times hate speech.
This incident also reminded me of Jannie du Plessis and him losing his son late last year. What a tragic event that was. The young boy drowned at home, while they were celebrating Jannie’s 39th birthday. Unimaginable.
Yet, the doctor didn’t stop playing rugby and doing what he loved. He soldiered on and not long after that, was in the Lions team for United Rugby Championship duty not long after that.
Then a few weeks ago, former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers lost his wife - two years after losing his daughter.
During these times, tremendous respect was shown to all of these sports stars. And rightly so.
But here’s the thing, we should not only be showing our respect in times of adversity but in general as well.
Remember how lelik PdV was broken by keyboard warriors back in the day?
These guys are mense too, and despite them saying they don’t read what other people think of them, they actually do. And what sports fans say about them hurts them.
Can you imagine being Paul Pogba, who is being told to eff off by his own fans yet they expect him to produce his best football on the pitch and continue smiling?
‘It comes with the territory of being in the public eye’, I hear you say. Not like that, you don’t break a man’s character because you don’t like his work.
I’m glad to report that in South Africa is ons darem nie so rof soos die United fans met Pogba nie, yet when it comes to matters of race we just can’t help but bash people we’ve never even met before - especially on social media platforms (want niemand kan jou sien nie). And that counts for all races.
Back to the sports stars and treating them fairly all the time.
The bottom line is just to stop idolising these mense. Once you realise that they are mense just like you and me, you might be a bit more sensitive to your wording of your dislike for them.
Respect them for their craft, when they are not on song, you can tell them in the best way possible.
You don’t have to tell them to eff off to wherever it is they came from.
Show some respect (all the time, not just when tragedy strikes), it goes a long way - and that counts for me too.
Having said that, banter is banter. Just don’t get personal.
Stay safe and God bless!