Sports attaches you to so many people. It gives fans a chance to get away from the struggles of the world. People care so much about the guys in your team’s uniform. So when they lose one, especially how the world lost Jose Fernandez this last Sunday, it hurts.

Former Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was killed early Sunday morning in a boating accident.

What is truly disappointing about this is the impact that it has on Miami. Not just the Marlins, but Miami. This is a city that has had to deal with the departing of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and now Jose Fernandez’s death since this past summer began.

More importantly, Fernandez was the representation of most Miami people. People with Cuban blood that either themselves or parents put either a life on the line to live life in the United States. He gave the Cuban-Americans a voice.

The representation of Cuban exile community is gone. The fact that he worked right in own back yard attached every single one of the Cuban people to him, along with his kid-like personality. That goes to show Fernandez’s impact he has had, on and off the baseball diamond.

This was a kid who was on his way to cashing in on free agency, a kid who tried four times to come to America. A kid who saved his mother’s life when she fell of a boat during an escape attempt from Cuba unknowingly. Fittingly, his life ended on a boat.

Fernandez’s personality is also why this is a crushing blow to Miami. He was a kid playing a man’s game. He had flare that was undeniably energetic and outreaching. In a world where there are many disputes over the smallest things, Fernandez always had fun playing the game of baseball.

Fernandez brought people to the ballpark. Got people to tune into the Marlins game. People watched the kid just be himself. Fun and energetic.

This is going to hurt for a along time in Miami. Baseball, too. His impact was gigantic. He was gave people who at one time did not have a voice.