POTOSI, Mo.
Devin Hampton remembers the epic Madden 2K battles with Brandon Bourbon on PlayStation, the two scarfing down spaghetti before making gas station runs for Gatorades and Snickers bars.
There also were faceoffs on “Rapchat,” a smartphone app that provided a background beat and allowed the friends to share their musical performances. Bourbon was always quick to call Hampton’s effort “wack” if it was no good.
“He was genuinely funny,” Hampton said, “and he knew that.”
Nearly 24 hours after learning Bourbon had died in rural Missouri from what authorities are calling a suicide, Hampton was still working to process his friend’s final days as the town of Potosi continued to mourn the former Kansas running back’s death.