Remembering Kobe Bryant
On Sunday morning, a little bit of greatness personified was snatched away from humanity in a fiery crash in the foggy hills of Calabasas.
Kobe Bean Bryant, 41, and his beautiful 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Marie, were among the nine people who tragically perished after the helicopter they occupied crashed minutes before 10 a.m.
It felt like the sun was even too sad to shine on LA that entire Sunday as Lakernation mourned its fallen star.
Kobe was an inspirational storyteller first and foremost. He encouraged future generations to pursue their passions and do what they love.
He made us all better by letting his undying drive to dominate the competition soak into the fabric of Los Angeles.
He made LA great again by showing us what being the best looks like. The City of Angels was divided in the early 90s, plagued by race wars, police brutality, and gang violence. It was Black versus White, Bloods versus Crips, but no colors were more important than the Purple and Gold once he took the floor.
Kobe was unafraid to be the outsider with a competitive edge. “The Black Mamba”, his on-court persona, was unafraid of speaking openly about being fueled by equal parts passion and anger. He was intolerant of laziness which is why he had a reputation of rubbing some of his teammates the wrong way, including “The Diesel,” Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal is having a particularly difficult time, understandably, after the news of his “little brother’s passing.” He shared an emotional statement on TNT as he was reflecting on the situation.
All of the adjectives and descriptors that flood my mind whenever I think of Kobe supersedes the scope of sports.
Just a few: tenacious, talented, intelligent, explosive, high-flying, relentless, remorseless, entrepreneurial, forward thinking, life force, and a competitive leader. All qualities of an ideal superhero, and he was to many of us.
I loved that he was unashamed to be himself or to express his desires and manifest them into reality. It was this polarizing characteristic which allowed us all to taste what it felt like to be a champion.
He led his teammates, his family and the world by example and showed an entire generation how to harvest its talents with a strict regimen coupled with an unmatched commitment to excellence.
His long list of accolades includes: five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, two NBA Finals MVPs, 18 All Star appearances, one league MVP and an Academy Award.
Over his two decades of dedication to the Lakers, he sacrificed his body with his win or die patented “Mamba Mentality” playing through injuries and illnesses.
Lakernation has flooded Figueroa and the surrounding streets of Staples Center, affectionately nicknamed the “House that Kobe Built,” to pay their respects ever since the news broke (prematurely) by TMZ.
NBA players paid their respects by taking 8-second and 24-second violations to honor The Mamba. The NFL’s Pro Bowl was dominated by Kobe coverage and football fans chanted his name to show their love for the Champion. The Grammy’s were held in the Staples Center later that night and it was as if the air was taken away from the entire event in wake of the tragic news.
Everyone is so affected by this major untimely loss. The only other event that could possibly compare was the assassination of President JFK, except this is an international tragedy.
We must remember in this time of deep sadness, he would want us all to continue to push ourselves, to continue to “put one foot in front of the other” and keep doing what we love because nothing should come in between us and our destiny if we pursue our passions with tenacity.