Neymar was whisked off to Sao Paulo on Saturday, where he will begin his rehabilitation from a broken vertebra. And bizarrely, photographers were allowed to walk right up to his gurney to snap photos of him.
So the man has a broken vertebra, just spent the night in a hospital, is in a back brace and is on his way to a helicopter, and you let people shove a camera inches from his face. Seems like a good idea.
Then again, nothing about this Neymar injury is normal. Not that Juan Zuniga went flying in with a knee to his back, not the state of mourning it sent Brazil into and now, not the way he is being transported to Sao Paulo. Everything about this is exceptional.
Neymar is the No. 1 story in Brazil, even with other matches going on. That may change by Tuesday, when the Selecao play their semifinal against Germany, but for now, it is all Neymar, all the time.