He was purple and gold, Showtime!
2020 continues to roar as the dog days of January end, with the heartbreaking loss of Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter, Gianna, 13, Sunday, with 9, total on board, the Sikorsky S-76B chopper. On their way to Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park, for Gianna’s game Sunday morning, in thick soupy fog, with visibility at a minimum, the “Mamba Chopper,” circled Glendale waiting for landing clearance. Following Interstate 5 flying at 1,400ft was the last time air traffic controllers confirmed tail number N72EX’s position. The aircraft had dipped too low in the fog and dropped off radar. The pilot, Ara Zobayan, was seasoned with 8,200 hours in big birds around the hills of L.A. Kobe always traveled in the air, to Laker home games, training sessions, and to other L.A. celebrity events. Why has something so routine taken a Champion, someone the public admired as a super hero, and left us feeling shock, sadness, disbelief, and has us questioning our own mortality?
Shannon Sharpe, former Denver Bronco TE, said on Undisputed with Skip Bayless, live from Miami Monday, “That when you live a life as accomplished as Kobe Bryant, as you live a life as fulfilling as Kobe Bryant, 41 years, is an eternity.” Kobe, named after the famous Japanese beef, moved to Italy when he was six, after his father, Joe, retired from the NBA and played in Italy. He learned to speak fluent Italian, play futbol, but always returned to the states during summers to play basketball. In his freshman year at Lower Merion High School, in Ardmore, located outside Philadelphia, he started. The team went 4 and 20. By junior year he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, amassing a 77-13 record for the Aces, and earning him Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Following the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett, straight out of High School and into the pro’s in 1996, the Hornets selected him #13 and traded him for Vlade Divac. His parents co-signed the 17 year olds 3 years 3.5 million dollar deal. That stings hornets!
“We watched a kid grow up before our eyes. We watched a 17 year old kid come into the NBA and become a champion, become a husband, become a father, become one of the all-time great players in NBA history,” said Shannon gently, trying to express his perspective of personal impact that the Black Mamba had on his life. Skip, choking up, gathering himself, said “I spent the rest of the day, as maybe a lot of us did,” pointing into the South Florida Super Bowl crowd, littered with purple and gold #24 jerseys, “Like the rest of us did, having to come to grips with my own morality, because if he can go, any of us can go!” Tragedy strikes a blow into the thought process of mere mortals, like Kobe, sticking a hanging fade away, for a storied franchise, intimating his hero, the one who taught us to fly from a foul line, over Lake Michigan, and changed how we played, showed us the impossible, inspired us through their greatness, and left us better off than before.
“It hit right between the eyes once again,” Skip said empathically, pointing at Shannon, “To your point, how fragile life is, how fleeting it can be.” He continued his shaken tone, “You got to live and love every single moment.” “That’s the ultimate truth of life,” his eyes shutting for a split second longer. Skip, “The diabolical hater,” known for his tough talk, took off the mask in front of the sports nation and questioned with humility, “Man, am I doing this right?” The question got us all to stop, “Smell the roses,” take a deep look inside and ask; am I willing. Skip could only contrive this to be the silver lining in such a blatant sign, that life is not fair, “What hit me hardest was,” Skip gulping in the Miami air, “Kobe was becoming greater in his 2nd career than his first!”
What an amazing compliment, considering the 5 time champion that was, one over Jordan, #24. Kobe attacked the hard wood like a vicious predator, earning him the nickname, “Black Mamba,” his prowess would secure him 12 All-Defensive team awards, more than any other guard. He won the Slam Dunk, NBA MVP, 2-time Finals MVP, 15 All-Star selections, and 4th all-time in points scored, 33,643, after LeBron’s 29 point loss to the 76er’s, moved him into 3rd place, one day before Kobe was gone, wearing the yellow Laker jersey, iconic! The man was so full of hutzpah he even stepped up to Shaq-Diesel, not ever giving an inch to an enemy, in a competitive practice that got out of hand. Alas, their relationship would sour in southern California after 3 Championships. Kobe Bryant transcended after Shaq’s departure, and led the Lakers to 2 more Champions with role players like Pau Gasol, Derick Fisher, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, and Kwame Brown, proving he was like Mike.
When Shannon asked Kobe if he missed playing, Kobe smirked and said nah, “I left everything on the court.” The growth that occurred during his 16 year career was broadcast to the sports world like the Truman show. We saw this boy grow to a Champion, fall in the face of an infidelity charge, lead without Shaq, handle L.A., and the world, like we were a part of it, on a fantastic ride you run back to the front of the line with anticipation, wonder, joy, possibly cutting to get your turn, like #24 cutting down short pocket defenders, on the way to the goal.
If you went to Bristol U on that distance learning, January 22, 2006 class, Kobe ascends to the next level in consciousness. Stuart Scott’s lecture began with, “Come get some,” and “Baducka dunk,” wondering why this was more important than NFL Championship section, we all had been studying. “Straight silliness,” Scott echoed through highlight after highlight of pull up dagger J’s, soft floaters in the lane, in rhythm 3’s, stone cold stare swishes at the free throw line, and Cheers from a star studded audience who knew how to handle a big moment. Bryant let the Raptors have it for 81, really, 81, points, in a 122-104 victory for L.A. It was astonishing! The basketball world had no pattern recognition of such play since Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 or David Robinson’s 71. A guy that scores 81 deserves a gold medal, oh, that’s right, he has two.
A hero, is larger than life, a hero gives us hope, a hero makes us feel connected, a hero shows us the power we hold, a hero shows humility, a hero shows courage in the face of fear, a hero heals relationships, a hero is always for the greater good; Kobe Bryant emulated a super hero. I think that is why not just the nation, but the world felt this blow; this punch to the gut was filled with such emotion that it loosened something in us. It made me think of Jackie Robinson, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Think globally how many people said their favorite player was Kobe, amazing to have that much reach, influence, care, and bring moments of joy into people’s lives simply by letting his love for the game shine.
Stepping up in times of turbulence or of quiet calm require Mamba strength. To have the guts and fortitude to not waver, and call for the ball, putting everything on your shoulders, success and failure in a shot taken, recorded in the Basketball Diaries, under the 11 time Champion Zen Master, Phil Jackson; from freshmen in Philly to NBA icon, Kobe Bryant shined bright in a constellation seen in every night sky.
