Dear Kobe
“Those times when you get up early and you work hard. Those times when you don’t feel like working, you too tired and you don’t want to push yourself but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream.” — Kobe Bryant
When I heard the news on Monday morning, I was in shock. Even after 48 hours and I’m writing this story right now, I still don’t believe it. I can’t imagine a world without Kobe Bryant. I still hope that none of this is true. I imagined that somehow Kobe survived the crash.
I’m writing this story cause I don’t know how to get this thing off my chest. I’m not that much of a fan actually, but I still can’t shake this sadness that I have right now. So I decided to write down my thoughts on this story. Hoping that it will ease down. Here goes...
To be honest, I didn’t grow up watching Kobe. I grew up watching LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose, that generation.
The first time I played basketball was when I’m in third grade. Back then, I didn’t know much well about Kobe Bryant. I knew that there’s a great basketball player named Kobe Bryant, but that’s it. I just knew his name, just like I knew Shaq and Michael Jordan, it’s just a name. In my school, we used to use Kobe Bryant as a term for people who wants to do or actually do an impossible shot: “Woah! What’re you doing man? Are you Kobe?”
Then I remembered, there was a time when I don’t like him. I think this is when he’s the only star player in Lakers, the others are just a bunch of rookie players. I didn’t like him at that time cause I thought he’s arrogant. He didn’t pass the ball to his teammate often and sometimes forced a shot. I don’t like him, but I respect him. I know he’s a great player.
After I got to college, basketball feels so far away. I didn’t play as much as I used to in high school. I didn’t follow the NBA news, I was so focused on my study. Then one day, when I was browsing through Youtube, a particular video showed up with a title: “Thank you, Kobe.”. It was a video about a group of people who admire Kobe so much, they’re paying their respect to Kobe’s jersey retirement by making a video. At this moment afterward, I learned the greatness of the Black Mamba.
Who do dat?
I learned from the video that Kobe gets up so early in the morning and already starts practicing. Who do dat? He used to do thousands of shots a day. Who do dat? He once broke his finger in a match and still going to do his free throw. Who do dat?
After that, I watched Kobe’s jersey retirement. Man... he’s got 2 jerseys hanging out on top of Staples Center, number 8 and 24. Who do dat? Then he gave his speech about his retirement. He’s not talking about his achievements, even though he got so many of ‘em. He was talking about the future generations of players, he was talking about his family (in fact, the quote that starts this story is from that speech).
After that, I start googling Kobe Bryant, finding out his story. In 20 years of his career, he has never changed his team, it was always purple 💜 and gold 💛. That was insane to me! Who do dat? What a dedication!
Then I’m starting watching his plays. He once scored 81 points in a single match. Who do dat?
At this point, I no longer hate Kobe. It’s just overwhelming respect now. Then in October 2018, I found out that he’s releasing his book called “Mamba Mentality”. I knew that the book will never be imported to my country, so I just forget about it. But later on, in the mid of 2019, the thoughts are coming back. I decided to buy the book after I got my bonus check. I ordered it at bookdepository. I waited for a month and a half, then it arrived. I read it afterward. Then I just found that he’s pouring out his everything for basketball. I learned that he studied the referee manual guidebook just to optimize his play at a certain time and place. Who do dat?
So when I heard the news 3 days ago, about the crash, that the world has lost Kobe Bryant, I was stunned. Even though he’s not that close to my heart and I’m not that fanatic towards him, I still feel like s**t that day. I was thinking about all the basketball fans from all around the world who would feel the same. My mind goes straight to the current and former NBA players. I can’t imagine how they must have felt. Many of them are inspired by Kobe, they join the NBA cause they saw Kobe play when they were young. I can’t pay any tributes like what they did on the court, cause I’m not a professional player. All I can do is write a letter, to one of the greatest basketball players ever:
Dear Kobe,
Hi man! Just one of the basketball fans here. I guess you're shooting hoops in heaven right now. I just want to say thank you. Thank you for giving out your heart, your soul, all of you, to this game we called basketball. Thank you for inspiring people all around the world. Thank you for the game that you've played. Thank you for setting out an example that by working hard, you can achieve your dream. Thank you for teaching me about dedication, hard work, discipline, the "Mamba Mentality".Hey man, let's play "did you know". Did you know my first ever "branded" basketball shoes were Nike Kobe 7? I got it in high school and it was white, purple, and gold. Did you know that for the past couple of days, the NBA games start by doing 24 and 8 seconds violation in honor of your numbers? Did you know in the Grammys, they paid a tribute to you? Did you know until now, there are still people coming out to Staples Center to paying their respect to you? Did you know that there's a mural of you in a street court in the Philippines? Did you know that there is an on-going petition right now to make you as the NBA logo? Did you know here in my country, your name has become synonymous with great plays.I know you certainly don't care about all of that stuff. I know you want us all to move forward. But please allow us, to do this, to mourned you one last time. Once again, thank you for teaching us the game of basketball. I know you loved your fade-aways, sorry but… you will never be faded away from our memories. Rest in peace, Mamba. You are truly a legend.
Regards,
Just a basketball fan
