A Tribute To Kobe Bryant… From A Celtics Fan Who Hated Him
Make yourself comfortable, and let me tell you the story that got me to hate Kobe Bryant, and at the sime time mourn his loss like his biggest fan would do.
My brother was born in 1995. Like many kids in his generation, he started playing basketball because of Kobe Bryant. My brother is Kobe’s biggest fan. It is fair to say Kobe was the person he looked up to the most. For Christmas or his birthday, my brother would always ask for Kobe or Lakers stuff. Kobe was everywhere in our home: posters, jerseys, cups, computer wallpapers, basketballs…
I was born in 1997, and soccer was my first love. I still love soccer, like all sports, and I am actually decent at it, but I remember the day I saw my brother playing basketball and immediately knew I wanted to play it as well. So, indirectly, Kobe became the reason why I started to play basketball too.
My idol, however, was Kevin Garnett. On my first trip to New York, as a 6-year old, I just saw his 2003–2004 Minnesota Timberwolves jersey and fell in love with it. It was georgeous and badass at the same time. It was just so cool to me, I just thought “wow, this guy has to be good”. Of course, I had no idea about who Garnett was until I started watching videos of him after that trip. He then got traded to the Celtics in 2008, and I became a Boston Celtics fan. I have been an avid green supporter since then, and as you know, the “Boston Celtics fan starter pack” comes with a heavy dose of deep hate for the Los Angeles Lakers.
I really hated Kobe
Some of my fondest childhood memories involve getting back from school and racing to the computer at home to watch YouTube videos of Kobe and KG with my brother. We shared the same room, and fought to hang posters of one or the other. We were constantly arguing about whether Bryant or Garnett was better. Looking back, Kobe was obviously a better player (even though I would say anything to deny it), but interestingly enough, Garnett was probably one of the few players able to match his intensity, his aggressiveness, and his competitive spirit.
My hate towards Kobe was two-fold. There was the Celtics side, but there was also a “national” side to it. As a Spaniard, this hate grew considerably after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Spain had won the FIBA world championship in 2006, and managed to keep that once-in-a-lifetime generation of basketball players together for this event: the Gasol Brothers, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernández, Felipe Reyes. Some of them might not sound familiar to the average basketball or NBA fan, but man, these people are legends. It is the most talented team we’ll ever play with.
Our team seemed to be unstoppable until we ran into a star-studded USA team in the final game. Both teams played what many consider the greatest basketball game ever, and the Spanish team did everything possible to contain a scarily powerful US squad (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, and of course Kobe, among others). The game was close until Kobe decided it was over in the fourth quarter.
With 3:25 left and the US leading 104–99, Kobe scored a cold-blooded four-point play that wrapped up the game. He then put his index finger in his mouth, making the whole arena go silent. I remember the deflated tone in the Spanish announcer’s voice: “not this way, Kobe. That is not a sportsmanlike gesture”. We were very salty. Kobe had destroyed any hope we had of becoming Olympic champions. The Black Mamba would finish the game with 20 points and the gold medal we had been dreaming about.
I said to my brother: “how can you love this guy”?
I just didn’t get it.
Needless to say, if Kevin Garnett would have done the same, I would still love him. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Yes, my brother wanted Spain to win, but Kobe was still his idol. In fact, I was coming from a deeply hypocritical perspective keeping in mind I had rooted against Spain’s biggest star, Pau Gasol, who played for the Lakers in that year’s Celtics-Lakers finals. These contradictions and irrational passions are part of what makes sports so great.
History would repeat itself in the 2012 London Olympics, in which the USA took home the gold again against us, with a score of 107–100 and Kobe scoring 17 points, just behind Durant’s 30 and LeBron James’ 19. Kobe and the US had killed us again. Spain will never again come that close to beating a superstar-filled USA team in basketball. Man, I hated this dude even more.
There will not ever be another Black Mamba
One of the adjectives that best describes Kobe is unique. Yes, he did model his game after Michael Jordan, but he developed his own mystique, charted his own path, and forged his own legacy by working tirelessly to perfect his craft. His work ethic was not a pose or a way to draw attention, but his primary tool to rise above the rest. You can tell when a person is genuine, and Kobe certainly was. He was deliberately unapologetic, and did not care about anything else but winning and achieving greatness.
As I said right after learning about Kobe’s passing, he “not only was the ultimate athlete and embodied all of the great values that sports teach us. He was also a brilliant mind, a magnificent teacher, and a loving father and husband. He was an MVP not only in basketball, but in life as well.”
Though he retired a few years ago, Kobe was such a bright mind that many of us were waiting for his next moves, because we knew he had an epic career ahead of himself as a community leader, a mentor, a dad, and for sure a coach. He did not waste any time after retiring and won an Oscar for his remarkable Dear Basketball animated short, and was producing more content to inspire the next generation, which became his primary mission after retiring.
A Letter to Kobe
Dear Kobe:
The stronger my hate became towards you, the more I respected you
I would always try to find impossible angles to deny your greatness, even though deep down I was well aware of how great you were.
When I heard the news of your passing, I realized how truly thankful I was to you. You created so many memories that became part of my life. Some of them were glorious, like teasing my brother about the Celtics beating the Lakers in 2008, and some of them were as painful as watching victory slip out of my team’s hands because of you. That’s exactly what made you the legend you are and made you earn everyone’s respect. I still refuse to believe that your story and that of your daugther Gianna’s are over, forever, along with those of the other seven victims of that terrible accident. It is just too soon.
For now, in an effort to fully comprehend what happened on that tragic January 26th accident, let me thank you, Kobe Bryant:
- Thank you for adding fuel to the Celtics — Lakers rivalry, the reason why I hated and admired you at the same time
- Thank you for admitting your mistakes and recovering from them early on, maturing, and becoming a role model for so many people, especially children
- Thank you for teaching us that pain is nothing but an illusion
- Thank you for everything you gave to the game of basketball, and for inspiring the next generation of players, who are today’s NBA superstars
- Thank you for coming so close to Michael Jordan’s greatness, and showing it to those of us who could never watch him play live
- Thank you for the Mamba Mentality, the ultimate competitive advantage to rise above others
- Thank you for displaying indomitable will to succeed, regardless of the circumstances around you
- Thank you for your remarkable and perennial legacy. It will forever live amongst us.
Words cannot describe how terrible of a loss this is, thank you enough for your life, or pray enough for all of your family, but this is as close as I can get.
Thank you Kobe, may you and your beloved daughter Rest In Peace.
Sincerely,
A Celtics fan who hated you.
