This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The circumstances were completely different, and considerably more effort was involved in one case.

The common theme was professional athletes with Utah ties showing compassion, and that's always a good thing.

Robert Turbin, a former Utah State football star, flew into Salt Lake City expressly to visit an Aggie fan in a hospital, responding in person to a family request. Tony Finau, a West High School graduate, went out of his way to apologize to a golf fan whom he had struck with a drive. With fans lining the fairways, that's a routine occurrence in PGA Tour events, but Finau's personal visit was exceptional.

Turbin's gesture was even more remarkable. Now a running back for the Indianapolis Colts, he received a letter from the brother of a USU employee who was severely injured in a mountain biking accident. Robert Reeder, 53, has been hospitalized since April 22 and has some degree of paralysis.

As detailed in a school news release, the family hoped that Turbin might send some kind of greeting to Reeder. Turbin went beyond that level of response, arranging a visit. "It just elevated me instantly," Reeder said afterward.

"I don't know if I've ever seen anybody's face light up like that before," Turbin said. "I wanted the Aggie community to know that I'm still in the community and I still care about the fans and the people that supported us along the way."

Turbin has always been grounded, even as a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks. His responses to a series of challenging developments in his family have demonstrated his nature of looking beyond himself.

Finau similarly is mindful of others, although his recent gesture was a case of atoning for an injury that he caused. During this past weekend's PGA Tour stop in Fort Worth, Texas, his golf ball hit a girl in the face, resulting in stitches. The standard response is signing a golf glove or another item, but Finau personally delivered flowers, candy and a card to the girl's home, as Elisa Butler chronicled in an Instagram post.

She credited Finau with "a very stand-up gesture," signing the post as Finau's "new favorite fan."

Twitter: @tribkurt