As others have said, this puts things in perspective and shows you how unimportant sports are in the grand scheme.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what my life will be like 10, 20, 30 years from now. Kobe probably did, too. Gotta value the here and now more.
What about in the later rounds when the stakes are higher? What if the day before the title game, somebody tests positive? Is the other team the national champion via forfeit?