On papal fervor

Before the white smoke had even cleared my Catholic friends were aflutter with excitement about the new Bishop of Rome. Shortly thereafter with Pope Francis' introduction to the world, the fervor-o-meter was turned to 11. What I noted (and was a bit surprised by) was the use of the word "love" and the amount of crying involved then and now. Certainly the election of a new patriarch in Orthodoxy is met with no little anticipation, but the outpouring of emotion Catholics have for their pope is - seemingly - a singularly Catholic thing.

Is this a result of the extraordinary position this man holds in the Latin Church? Is it a result of all the media attention? Your thoughts, please.