Remembering Mamba
Kobe Bryant. (©Harry How/Getty Images)
On the first day of Journalism 101, your instructor will tell you that certain stories will write themselves, while you will struggle to find the words to capture the moment on others. Today is the latter for me.
The news of the unexpected death of Kobe Bryant brought with it feelings of sorrow and speechlessness simultaneously. My mind spun like a roulette wheel as it stopped on certain moments of Bryant’s career. I witnessed the evolution of a cocky, confident 18-year old that transformed into an NBA icon right before my eyes.
My first memory of Kobe was of him shooting three-point airballs in a series-ending loss to the Utah Jazz in the 1997 playoffs. Then, the volatile partnership with Shaq in the 2000’s. Often, they bitched and moaned at one another, but yet, they made beautiful music together by winning three consecutive NBA titles (2000, 2001, 2002). Finally, that unbelievable 60-point performance in his last game. Once Kobe captured your attention, you rarely looked away from the action.
The Mamba Mentality can best be defined as never being satisfied with winning because you are continually striving for total domination. And while Kobe is gone, this mindset will live on through the countless fans that were touched by his greatness.
He has inspired a generation to outwork others in the workplace, encourage them to become devout parents to their children and prepare themselves for new challenges in life with no regrets in leaving their comfort zone.
There is no handbook on how to react to these types of tragedies. No person can immortalize a 41-year old’s life into 300 words. Kobe Bryant’s story was not supposed to end on Sunday. In some ways, Kobe’s retirement felt like the beginning of the second act of a three-act play. Selfishly, I am sad that I will not get to see what the future held for Kobe as his post-NBA career was already so promising.
In the end, Kobe was bigger than the NBA, bigger than Hollywood. He opened the world’s eyes to the game of basketball.
New York Knicks forward Marcus Morris summed up this tragedy perfectly, “Superman isn’t supposed to die and to us, Kobe felt like Superman.”
Rest in peace, Mamba.