It's just so sad. I've been thinking of writing a homage about Kobe. Early memories, his first season coming off the bench, being an All star as a rookie when he wasn't even a starter on his own team, the Kobe-Shaq era, the Kobe one man team era, the Kobe resurrection period, Kobe 8v Kobe 24, the Kobe mindset, the Kobe postgame era, the Oscar, the player analysis he shares during playoffs, his persona. Just so much. I think like most people at this moment, I can't even watch his highlights anymore.
I thought I'd leave this interview here. I watched it awhile back, and I remember thinking that Kobe post NBA era might be just as influental as Kobe's NBA era. Such a smart, high IQ, motivated, driven, and disciplined, person. And by all accounts, a fantastic father that loved his daughters. Post 70s era ,Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, those 4 players impacted the game, but especially, impacted the black minority community like no other. They changed the way people viewed players, not just on but off the court. Not just whilst playing the game but also outside the basketball world. Such fantastic role models. Just as Magic is still proving to be a positive role in the work and business he does outside of the game, and Jordan with his Jordan brand and team ownership (his logo sponsors football teams!), the Kobe post-NBA era was just getting started and the glimpses of it were wonderful thus far. My heart goes out to his family that has to cope with a double loss, to the families of all the other victims of the crash, and to the players/owners/staff that were close to Kobe. Gone too soon, but what he left behind dwarfs what almost any athlete has every accomplished and left behind as a legacy.
<![CDATA[<a href="https://youtube.com/v/VSceuiPBpxY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://youtube.com/v/VSceuiPBpxY</a>]]>Have a look, if you can. Inspirational.
RIP Kobe Bryant
*(full interview is here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9GvDekiJ9c&t=3005s
