I was upstairs writing when the call came. My daughter’s Face timed me with the news. Kobe Bryant was dead. I told them to stop playing.
I’ve been a Lakers fan since Dad sat me down beside him on the couch to watch the Showtime Lakers. Magic, Kareem, James Worthy, AC Green, Bryon Scott. I fell in love with their style. I’ve always loved basketball (my jumper was nice) and the LA Lakers became MY team.
Even through the down years, I rooted for them. Then we traded for Shaq. And drafted a young kid named Kobe Bean Bryant. The Lakers were back, baby.
And I got to watch a young boy grow into a man. His work ethic was nuts. You had to admire the tenacity. The arrogance to believe he would emerge as THE best basketball player. And he did it. He won at the highest level. It was inspiring. It made you want to work hard on your own chosen craft. Kobe made it possible to believe that a strong will and consistency would reap rewards. I didn’t want to be like Mike. I wanted to be like Kobe. #MambaMentality
He wasn’t perfect. There are some that may condemn him forever but I saw the growth, the maturity. And I’m no one’s judge and jury. I didn’t know him personally, of course, but from what I could see he was a wonderful father. He seemed to be happily married. He loved to teach the next generation of ballplayers. Especially girls. #GirlDad
I was looking forward to his new path. A more creative path. He wrote a series of children’s books. He won an Oscar for Best Animated Short for his poem, Dear Basketball. In winning that award, he showed he was more than an athlete. It’s depressing to think of all the work he was still planning to do and know it’s not going to happen. Kobe was only 41 years old. The world was robbed of his gifts.
So, to Kobe, his daughter Gianna, Sarah & Payton Chester, Alyssa, Keri & John Altobelli, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan, rest in peace. You will be missed but remembered forever!
This print was created by Matt Sanoian of Sanoian Designs. If you would like to purchase it, please go to www.sanoiandesigns.com/buy
All proceeds will be donated to the MambaOnThree.org