As football legend Maradona passed away on Wednesday, hundreds of people across the globe took to social media platforms to mourn. The world of sports, many said, had lost one of its greatest icons. Maradona, who led Argentina to win the 1986 World Cup, was a uniquely gifted player and charismatic figure. The former star player and coach, most recently of the Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata football team, had undergone surgery following a stroke in early November. He passed away due to cardio-respiratory arrest at his home in the Tigre district on the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires. The Argentina government has declared three days of national mourning following the football legend's demise.
Interestingly, even as the world remembered Diego Maradona, Twitter turned one of his contemporaries into a trending hashtag. Suddenly, there was a deluge of tweets bemoaning the death of well known pop music icon Madonna. And while the American singer-songwriter has not reacted to the posts, we assume that coming online only to discover that you're supposed to be dead cannot be a fun experience.
Now, in case you haven't quite clued in to the fact, let us assure you that Madonna is not dead. While our mortality is of course a topic one can never be too sure about, the "Queen of Pop" had been active on social media even as the rumours of her death circulated, which should help assuage some of your fears.
While the two may be similarly named individuals, they are both immensely popular in their fields. And so, as an alarmingly large number of people misread the news, they prompted an outpouring of grief. For some, problematically enough, the fact that they had gotten the name wrong was a matter of relief!
"My husband just ran in to tell me Madonna is dead. It seems he read the headline incorrectly," wrote one Twitter user. "You must have been massively relieved when you realised it was only the greatest footballer of all time who was dead," came the prompt response from another user. She was.
"Madonna will be up there right now with Prince and MJ, having the concert of all eternity. The Big Three, under one roof!" read one mournful tweet.
Take a look:
