But it's the best we can do :-) It's hard to ratify how a man who most of us have never shared a room with, or even uttered a single word to in person, can evoke such strong emotions. But he does, and they're as real as any of the other feelings we've got in our lives.
I try to imagine how fans felt about Cal Ripken Jr., or Lou Gehrig back in the day, and I can only ever come close to a reasonable approximation by starting with "How do I feel about Edgar Martinez?" And I love me some 'Gar, but he sure as shootin' weren't no Iron Horse - let alone The Babe.
That's one of the true beauties of pro sports: the ability of these athletes to impact our lives in such a profoundly powerful, positive (>_>) way. People who try to stuff the phenomenon into a can and call it 'tribalism' are missing the forest for the trees. It's human, and it's one of the bright spots of our existence.