Some time has passed, but it still feels hard to believe. I think most would agree with me in saying they cannot recall being so shocked or emotional about the death of an individual they’ve never met. I’ve never seen so much mourning on the internet for a single human being - it’s well-deserved, and it goes to show the impact he had on so many people’s lives.
I’ve lived in Southern California for the majority of my life - I grew up with Kobe. While I wasn’t a Laker fan, I’ve never seen a more-worn jersey of any sport than his famous 8 or 24. I have countless friends that are Laker fans, all of whom were blessed to have the Black Mamba lead them to 5 titles (the most recent two a bit more memorable). I currently live in Los Angeles and went to Staples Center this week to pay a quick tribute - it was overwhelming how many people were there. It’s been surreal being in LA this week. Trying to find the silver lining in the situation, I noted how inspiring it was that a single human could have such an impact on so many people. While in sadness, the tragic events brought a sense of togetherness and encouraged others to do nice deeds or treat their neighbors respectfully.
I could go on about his legacy as a player and person, but since this is a soccer-related blog, he deserves a memorial dedicated to how massive of a football fan he truly was. Some of Kobe’s special moments with the sport include:
Bryant spent some of his youth years living in Italy, and fell in love with the game. I could speculate he would’ve rather been a football superstar than basketball.
Kobe even credits football strategy helping him improve his basketball game. He noted how give-and-gos in soccer helped him understand Phil Jackon’s triangle offense. It’s evident that Bryant watched games different than the typical fan - while most of us watch simply for entertainment value, Kobe used it as more than entertainment, analyzing tactics to help improve his own basketball skills. This is one of the countless examples of a human being that was never satisfied with his talent and always wanted to improve.
There are plenty of American celebrities that can be labelled fair-weathered soccer fans - some of them likely showing support for a team with ulterior motives. However, it couldn’t have been any different with the Mamba. He was a loyal AC Milan fan (they had an awesome tribute to him for their first game following his passing), and consistently visited other clubs for training/matches, especially post-retirement. It’s a shame that he was taken from us so soon - his relationship with professional teams would’ve likely strengthened in the coming years.
The hardest thing about writing this post (aside from emotion) was finding a football-related picture to use of Kobe. There are simply too many - most of the best teams in the world have a photo to pick from with him. There have been dozens of football players that have paid tribute to him in the few days since his death - it’s very clear the impact he had on their lives.
It’s still difficult to believe that he’s no longer with us. My heart hurts so much for his family and the other families that have to cope with the tragedy. I’m not going to pretend like I was a massive fan of his - in fact, I really didn’t like him most of his NBA career. However, I gained respect towards the end of it, in a way similar to Tom Brady or Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead of hating, let’s remember to appreciate once-in-a-generation players while they still have juice left in the tank.
Author: Living in Southern California, Robert Sweeney has been a fan of soccer since he played as a young child. Since then, he’s become a diehard Tottenham and US National Team fan. Rob enjoys writing about the impact soccer has had on his life in hopes that it betters others as well. Twitter: @robsweeney11