It took a 60-point game, a walk off hit, and a Super Bowl to realize what was coming. Star athletes have made their mark on their legacies in their final games, and this gave me the realization that the people that have inspired us growing up are taking the next steps in their lives. Just like we're taking the steps toward the next part of our lives.

The concept of a legacy is something that us young people of America have only seen a couple of athletes leave on their respected sport. In the three dominant professional sports in the United States, we have lost an athlete that is considered one of the best in the past two years.

Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, and Peyton Manning.

A legacy is not just given to somebody, it is built. It is built upon trust, hard work, and dedication to something that you love. These three athletes each built legacies with their organizations, their sport, and most importantly, their fans. I was lucky enough to grow up idolizing a group of athletes that created the American dream for themselves. We were lucky enough to be able to watch these superstars master their craft and we were lucky enough to mimic them every day until we got their form down.

These are the players that we watched as children growing up, thinking every day about how much we want to be like them. My idol is still and always will be the one and only Derek Jeter. Each day at practice as a younger child I would imitate the way he fielded a ground ball and work on my game until it completely resembled his. Now this never fully happened but you get the point.

These are the players that we realize have it all. These athletes have all the talent in the world, but that talent means nothing without the support of the people that surround them and love them.

These are the players that gave us hope. The hope to succeed and the hope to thrive in this world to become something bigger than ourselves. These players were superstars, if you don't know who they are there is something wrong. These athletes were bigger then themselves, these athletes represented the greatness of professional sports. They represented the athletes that started from the bottom now they're here, taking over the world a game at a time.

A legacy. These are legacies that weren't built just for themselves, and they made it evident. They did everything for the people around them, providing hope, prosperity, and the ultimate expression of desire. Commitment to complete the goals they've set, commitment to helping those around them do the same.

The athlete's legacies may be over, but it is time to create ours.