Neither did I. I'm not a huge Formula 1 fan, but when I was a kid, his name was practically synonymous with car racing.
For me he's synonymous with flying. First Lauda Air, then Fly Niki with Air Berlin and now Lauda Motion with Ryanair.
I guess I'm not a big fan of flying either. His racing reached me, his airlines didn't.
Personally I couldn't think of a worse legacy than having my name associated with Ryanair.
I flew with another airline that he was part of called Laudamotion. Its part of ryanair (not great), but you can tell from the more sportif look. The seats were pure leather and the airhosteses were wearing jeans.