It is crazy how fast time flies. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I received the news three years ago today that Kobe Bryant passed away. It was a Sunday morning, I was on my way to the gym and my friend Jamel started sending information that Kobe Bryant had passed. I literally remember yelling at him “How could you think this is real.” “Stop sending this dumb shit in here.” And a few hours later TMZ confirmed it and the entire world seemed to stand still.
I’m an avid twitter user and that day on twitter was one of the wildest I have ever experienced. It seemed like everyone was trying to navigate through a never-ending fog of shock and sadness. To be honest with you, I don’t think much has changed regarding the situation even after 3 years, and I don’t think it ever will change. That is how much it hurt to lose Kobe Bryant.
HATING KOBE BRYANT
I love this commercial. I hated Kobe Bryant growing up. He was so good; some would even say the best. And I hated him for it. He was a lot of people’s hero that they idolized. Not to me, to me he was a villain, and looking back on it, he was the perfect villain. He was the villain that you see in movies that you end up liking more than the hero. He was ferocious, he was going to come into your house and kill your team. He was going to will his team to victory no matter what the costs. And then he was going to let your team and the fans know that he just kicked your ass.
Looking back on it I don’t even know what I was hating, this is exactly how every person should attack anything they do in life. It’s how I like to attack my men’s league games when I play against washed up old men and I let them know they can’t guard me! (Some people may say I’m also washed, but Kobe would want me to have that Mamba mentality. So, I just want you to know if you’re reading this, I could bust your ass. Pause.) But I don’t even think it should only be about sports. If we attacked our jobs, dreams, or goals with the mentality and work that Kobe had, I think we all would be feeling happier, and more fulfilled. Regardless of the outcome.
KOBE BRYANT WAS CRAZY
I think it’s no secret that Kobe was a madman. But you have to be crazy if you want to be successful. You have to be different from the norm. The guy created his own nickname! The Black Mamba… Fire nickname. (I also created my own nickname unintentionally “Buttah.” Maybe I’m crazy like Kobe too.) I mean just look at this clip from the new documentary about the 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team.”
Melo saying, he was not going down at 4:30am because it’s too early always makes me laugh. But that’s just what Kobe did. He knew if he got the reps up and outworked you the outcome would be better for him then his opponent. I mean just look at what he was starting to do after basketball. He won an Academy Award for the animated short about his letter “Basketball Muse.” He had an investment company; he had the Mamba academy where he was coaching his daughter Gigi to become the best player the WNBA would have ever seen. Just look at how his team responded after losing to this team two years prior.
Hilariously crazy. Also, side note, I love this clip of D-Wade talking about breaking Kobe’s nose in the all-star game. Again, hilariously crazy.
HIS LEGACY WILL LIVE ON
It is incredibly sad that we will not get to witness Kobe grow old like the other NBA legends. The world seemed like a better place with him in it. I’ve enjoyed the stories that have come out about him in documentaries like The Last Dance, and the Redeem Team. This day is incredibly hard, and it never gets any easier to watch the videos of all the athletes crying and sharing their stories from that time three years ago. As I said earlier, I hated Kobe, but I was sitting on my couch with tears running down my face, just like the people who called him their hero.
I don’t know if it will ever get easier, but I know his legacy will live on forever. A basketball assassin, a crazy hard worker, a limitlessly talented individual, and a loving Girl Dad who would do anything for his children. Kids these days are saying “Curry” when they shoot garbage into a trash can, but for us it will always be Kobe. Rest In Power Kobe “Bean” Bryant, and everyone else who tragically lost their lives that day.
