FOR THE BLACK MAMBA

Didn’t feel like writing this so I’ll make this as quick as possible. 

My aunt on my dad side used to pick me up and take me shopping once a month on weekends when I was a kid. One weekend we went shopping and she had us spend the night at her best friends house since we all went to the same church. We would just go to church together on that Sunday morning. I remember her friend son had a bunch of rap cd’s I would listen to while I was over there and I was just chilling listening to music in his basement and the NBA all star game was on. So I’m watching the dunk contest and I’m just glued to the TV cause this man was flying through the air effortlessly. I never seen him before. Never knew who he was. I didn’t follow the draft when I was kid I just watched the games  but I still never seen or heard of him before. 

When he did the in between the legs dunk for his final dunk in the contest and came down and flexed that’s when I declared that he was my favorite player. This was the first time I seen Kobe Bean Bryant. I remember telling my friends when I saw them again that Kobe was the truth. All we talked about was that in between the legs dunk. Then he started getting commercials. I remember the “KOBE BRYANT! SLAM DUNK GIANT” Sprite commercial with Missy Elliot and Tim Duncan. Shit was crazy to us.

The Lakers were awful at this time but I would try to catch games whenever they would show them on NBC, TBS, or TNT. In St.Louis the only teams I would see frequently was the Bulls and Pacers on the WGN channel. When I could see the Lakers play Kobe wouldn’t play much. I would get upset about it because as a kid I thought if you dunk good you should be in the game. I mean that’s all I saw in NBA Jam on Sega so I figured real life shouldn’t be any different. Fast forward years later I remember the exact moment when Shaq was traded to the Lakers and that’s when Kobe really turnt up on the league. 

I’ll never forget that game 7 against the Portland Trailblazers on Memorial Day Weekend. I was watching in my living room and that classic alley oop he threw to Shaq that changed the tide of the game. I jumped so high in the air when that happened. I remember those wars against Sheed, Bonzi, and Damon. The wars with the Sacramento Kings and Big Shot Bob hitting that 3 at the top of the key cause Kobe swatted the ball out to him. I remember the wars with Allen Iverson and Kobe and A.I talking shit to each other in the Finals. I remember those key games Kobe had against The Pacers for his first ring. I loved this man dawg. He was kinda dorky to me but I loved his game. Watching Kobe play was like watching a Martin Scorsese film. It was ART. Kobe’s game was ART. It was similar to Jordan’s but that’s what made him different. Kobe game was so fluid and evolved. The fearlessness he played with. He wanted to beat any and everyone. He didn’t care about anything except the game. 

I went on to root against Kobe once they got Shaq traded to Miami and I always blamed Kobe for that. I felt he shouldn’t have let Shaq go so I started rooting against Kobe and even rooting against him was hard cause deep in my heart I still loved him. My biggest influences in loving basketball was MJ, Kobe, A.I, K.G, and Penny. There was no way I could truly dislike Kobe. Even rooting against Kobe was fun because if you know the game it’s hard to not wanna watch his game. I watched his score 81 points in awe and forgot to root against him. That’s how special his game was. His game was so beautiful and graceful. I saw what Fox Sports personality Nick Wright said was his regret about Kobe and it was that he spent his entire career nitpicking at Kobe to strengthen his case about why LeBron was better and when I saw him say that I could see the sadness on his face because he didn’t really just sit back and enjoy what Kobe accomplished. Never in a million years did he see this coming. Who’s the best don’t even matter anymore. In any sport. The life and journey matters. I’m not participating in those debates no more. Let’s just start praising these athletes who put their bodies on the line for our entertainment. 

To say this loss hurts is an understatement. I’ll never get over this. I’m still confused. I’m not shocked. I’m just confused about all of this. I’m confused because I thought this man was immortal. I thought he can’t die. That’s how he played on the court. He played like he was immortal. The biggest deaths that hit me outside of family for me personally was Tupac Shakur, Bankroll Fresh, and Nipsey Hussle. Kobe passing just hit me different I guess because he was an athlete that I watched for 20 straight years. The other artists deaths I could kind of see coming in hindsight and it was still shocking but Kobe’s passing literally knocked the wind out of me. Like I couldn’t move. Like everything just froze around me. I was at work when I found out and my whole shift was a blur and everyone could see I wasn’t okay. I was really shaken up. I though about all the kids in that crash and how they never got a chance to really live life. GiGi was about to change Women’s Basketball. I was interested because Her and Kobe shined such a bright light on it. I wanted to see where they would take it. 

But one thing that makes me sad about this tragedy besides he lives lost and the families left behind grieving is that I was really more interested in Kobe’s life after basketball more than the his actual basketball career. As some may know I’m really into creatives and creativity. Kobe’s take and insight on things is something I’m always into. He’s a philosopher and great teacher. He’s the only athlete I’ve ever followed on Twitter. I love his breakdowns on not just the game of basketball but film, music, everything. I always watch his interviews and soak up knowledge. He’s a different type of cat. He played classical music, he studied history and cultures, spoke many languages, the man won an Oscar after he retired. He was just different man. 

I remember I wrote about how he stopped trying to be a role model and play to the media and just authentically be himself and that’s how he won 2 more rings after the 3 peat dynasty. He was always himself good or bad after that and I truly respected that about him. It felt good seeing him be him. Remember that one playoff game where he refused to shoot and deferred the whole game just to prove a point? Who would have the balls to do some shit like that in the playoffs. Only The Black Mamba would.  

All I can think of is hooping in his 2K4 shoes, laughing at his old Adidas shoes that look like a iRobot pod. His awful rapping, numerous cameos in music videos and T.V, Watching the 3 peat with Shaq. Always yelling Kobe when shooting into a trash can. He was just a guy who was fearless when it came to trying new things, he didn’t care who was watching or who would judge. He would try regardless. I loved that about him and that’s one thing I live by. 

The 60 point game finale we watched at The Dugout and I remember all of us screaming at the TV proud of The Black Mamba then skip to this past Sunday we in The Dugout saddened and crushed about him leaving this way but guess what? We was still proud of The Black Mamba. 

Thank You Kobe Bean Bryant. Love ya. 

Peace 

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