Today as I was sitting at McAlister's Deli, I was reading a little tidbit about Russell Wilson passing up his starting spot to Drew Brees in the Pro Bowl. I thought to myself, "Am I going to be typing up a tribute to Drew Brees in a month or so on here?" Let's hope not, but a little while later as I was pulling in to view a house, I caught these little posts on social media. Something about RIP Kobe? I thought to myself wasn't there some news last night about LeBron passing him on the all-time scoring list?
I remember where I was when Payne Stewart died. I remember where I was when Hank Gathers died. I remember where I was when Dale Earnhardt died. I will definitely remember where I was when I heard the news of Kobe's passing. I was with a realtor when my buddy Jeff called today, and instantly I knew the reason for his call.
You see sports have this enormous ability to help us cope, to help us heal,to help us mourn, to help us honor others, to help us move on from tragedies, and so on. This one is a little bit different though. Kobe's passing comes about 3 1/2 years after his retirement from the game of basketball. Kobe was still doing Kobe though. Kobe won an Oscar, Kobe started Mamba Sports Academy, Kobe even started writing kid's books. Most importantly, he was that dad. That dad that was like some of our dads - our number one fan at whatever sport we loved doing the most. Three young girls are now burdened with carrying that legacy on from today.
I recall seeing Kobe's impact around the world, when I would play on basketball courts of Korea. Most of the time these were outdoor courts at a local university. There was a park in Seoul that I would travel to from time to time and play on with some friends that had many 8-10 courts on it. Some of my fondest memories though, come from the last few times I graced a court with my presence. This was in the city of Daegu, on the campus of Kyungbuk University, located near the church I attended. You see this school was known for having a good sized population of foreign students. Many of these students hailed from China.
I recall a Kobe jersey or two during those adventures with the college kids. You could usually tell the Chinese and Koreans apart on a basketball court. The Koreans were soft. They did not want to play that whole physical style of playground type basketball. The Chinese, they were competitors for sure. Looking back you can tell how someone like Kobe impacted the world of basketball. I remember one guy that was a total baller, and he had some flashes of that Kobe style in him. It was fun to play against someone like him, because he was just that good, but was very quiet about it. Heck, Kobe was not only admired by the Chinese, but he was able to speak their language as well. As one who can speak an Asian language, you are more admired by certain cultures when you take the time to communicate with their people, in their language.
Truth be told, I probably rooted against Kobe and those championship Lakers more than I rooted for them. I am that way with the Yankees and Patriots as well. I just like seeing different teams win championships. He and Shaq were fun to watch though, and you just cringed sometimes thinking, "they're just gonna win some more of those championships it looks like." Like Mariano Rivera, Tom Brady, and others, Kobe had that fire, and he was gracious enough to pass it on to his kids and to many others who went through his Mamba Academy. Even players from other sports would come to learn his secrets.
Kobe was admired by all of us who are sports fans. It wasn't just the championships, or his tenacity to never, ever back down. It wasn't all the awards, or the stat sheet that he filled for 20 years. It was how he embraced doing what he loved. He embraced those that came before him. He embraced the fans, he embraced their love of the game. He embraced his retirement from the game, so he could embrace what was most important in life, his family. He embraced raising his four daughters, and letting them be the ones that carried that legacy on to other generations. Today and tonight the world has embraced the impact he left on it, as number 8, number 24, a father, a husband, a coach, a soccer fan, a mentor, a business man, an author, and so much more. As the NBA All Star break approaches soon, we will all hear and read much more about this tragic passing of Kobe and all of those that were involved. Embrace those in your lives a little more and more.
I remember where I was when Payne Stewart died. I remember where I was when Hank Gathers died. I remember where I was when Dale Earnhardt died. I will definitely remember where I was when I heard the news of Kobe's passing. I was with a realtor when my buddy Jeff called today, and instantly I knew the reason for his call.
You see sports have this enormous ability to help us cope, to help us heal,to help us mourn, to help us honor others, to help us move on from tragedies, and so on. This one is a little bit different though. Kobe's passing comes about 3 1/2 years after his retirement from the game of basketball. Kobe was still doing Kobe though. Kobe won an Oscar, Kobe started Mamba Sports Academy, Kobe even started writing kid's books. Most importantly, he was that dad. That dad that was like some of our dads - our number one fan at whatever sport we loved doing the most. Three young girls are now burdened with carrying that legacy on from today.
I recall seeing Kobe's impact around the world, when I would play on basketball courts of Korea. Most of the time these were outdoor courts at a local university. There was a park in Seoul that I would travel to from time to time and play on with some friends that had many 8-10 courts on it. Some of my fondest memories though, come from the last few times I graced a court with my presence. This was in the city of Daegu, on the campus of Kyungbuk University, located near the church I attended. You see this school was known for having a good sized population of foreign students. Many of these students hailed from China.
I recall a Kobe jersey or two during those adventures with the college kids. You could usually tell the Chinese and Koreans apart on a basketball court. The Koreans were soft. They did not want to play that whole physical style of playground type basketball. The Chinese, they were competitors for sure. Looking back you can tell how someone like Kobe impacted the world of basketball. I remember one guy that was a total baller, and he had some flashes of that Kobe style in him. It was fun to play against someone like him, because he was just that good, but was very quiet about it. Heck, Kobe was not only admired by the Chinese, but he was able to speak their language as well. As one who can speak an Asian language, you are more admired by certain cultures when you take the time to communicate with their people, in their language.
Truth be told, I probably rooted against Kobe and those championship Lakers more than I rooted for them. I am that way with the Yankees and Patriots as well. I just like seeing different teams win championships. He and Shaq were fun to watch though, and you just cringed sometimes thinking, "they're just gonna win some more of those championships it looks like." Like Mariano Rivera, Tom Brady, and others, Kobe had that fire, and he was gracious enough to pass it on to his kids and to many others who went through his Mamba Academy. Even players from other sports would come to learn his secrets.
Kobe was admired by all of us who are sports fans. It wasn't just the championships, or his tenacity to never, ever back down. It wasn't all the awards, or the stat sheet that he filled for 20 years. It was how he embraced doing what he loved. He embraced those that came before him. He embraced the fans, he embraced their love of the game. He embraced his retirement from the game, so he could embrace what was most important in life, his family. He embraced raising his four daughters, and letting them be the ones that carried that legacy on to other generations. Today and tonight the world has embraced the impact he left on it, as number 8, number 24, a father, a husband, a coach, a soccer fan, a mentor, a business man, an author, and so much more. As the NBA All Star break approaches soon, we will all hear and read much more about this tragic passing of Kobe and all of those that were involved. Embrace those in your lives a little more and more.
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