Steve's death is an honerable one. His life's work was a noble cause and he went out like a hero (not like a punk, like choking on a ham bone or something).

And everyone is caught up in it because we actually give a rats ass about his life. Unlike some piss-ant movie star dieing of a cocaine overdose, or some blue blood royalty yuppie falling off his polo horse, or some lame singer drinking himself to death, or some fortune hieress killed in a car crash, or some worthless politician dieing of lung cancer. Who gives a fuck?

But Steve. Steve made you care about what he did. He was a bridge between our world and the animal kingdom. And even if we all thought he was nuts, we still loved him for it. And now he is gone, and the world is a little bit sadder.