You will deffinately feel and hear a POP when it pops out of gear.

To answer you guestion about how a shifting fork gets bent.... The most common way for a fork to get bent is by linkage not being adjusted properly and then excessive force being used to muscle it into gear. Another way shifting forks can get damaged is during the transmission build.... not as common though.

If I were you I would take it to the dealer ASAP. If it is just a matter of the linkage needing adjustment, if it's not done right away you could end up some serious damage.