BLACK MAMBA

DISCLAIMER:  I wrote this on a plane, coming back from Vegas, with no internet, no looking up stuff, no nothing.  This is from the heart and off the top of my head.  My plan was to write a blog on Vegas, sports while I was gone, but this is more important.  This is a strange one.  I planned on watching a movie on my flight, or writing an airplane blog, but there is something that needs to be addressed.  We lost one of the most magical basketball players on Earth right now, or ever, yesterday.  So, I have decided THIS random post-Vegas rant on Kobe WILL be my ENTIRE blog.  I am Vegas-tired, but ready to express myself on this subject.  This is barely edited.  Long weekend.

I was in an odd spot.  When you have bottomless mimosas and go to the best kept secret in Vegas for brunch (uhhh…seriously…Sterling Brunch is the greatest meal in Vegas), you are supposed to have your 2-3 hours of champagne heaven, be in Sin City, and continue to feel…just good.  But, about 75% of the way through the meal, the news dropped.  Oddly, TMZ beat ESPN and CNN by at least 30 minutes.  Not sure about TMZ’s workforce, but still weird they beat everyone on the news.  I joke around about falling off couches and stools, but I almost did Sunday.

I am going to get to Kobe, but I have to comment first on the rudest thing someone has said to me in years.  I picked ONE person outside of the brunch to tell about the breaking news.  He didn’t have an accent, so being foreign isn’t an excuse.  He said these words, and also gave me the idea for this blog, by saying “Who the FUCK (sorry mom) is Kobe Bryant??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Thanks, dickhead (sorry, mom, he was a dick).  You might not know who Kobe is if you live across the sea, but since Kobe himself is foreign, you probably still know who he is.  What an ass that guy was.  I would have thought about fighting him if I wasn’t mimosa/happy buzzed.

My one meal when I eat caviar…and actually KNOW how to maximize it at this point, since I am now a Sterling Brunch regular.

The Fillerbuster will tell you who Kobe Bryant was.

Kobe was not the most likeable guy.  He allegedly raped a chick in Eagle Vail.  He wasn’t the nicest guy to the media.  Him and the Big Aristotle had some beef.  He changed jersey numbers.  He just wasn’t the Godsend we needed or wanted.  He wasn’t as good as Jordan, and we knew that.  But then, he got about three more titles than we thought he would.  Not many people can say they are in the same sentence as MJ, but he is one of the few guys. Same sentence as MJ.  BIG Compliment.

I need more faces on Mount Rushmore.  He would be my seventh, maybe sixth.  That is saying something.  My top four are MJ, Bill Russell, Wilt, and LeBron.  Off the top of my head.  Kobe, Kareem, Larry, and Magic, you are the mess on the next mountain.   Zeke, Cousy, West, Shaq, Hakeem all muddle the mix.

Let’s talk about what Kobe was.  Who he was.

The easy way to take this is my first point.  One game.  Too easy, right?  I will still go there.  Most people don’t understand the NBA is the some of the best people in the world on the court on any given night for 82 games.  If you can score, 10 points in a single game, any week, then you are special.  Scoring 20 a night means you don’t need a new job.  Scoring 30 means regularly you are on a list of people in single digits all time.  Scoring 40 means you only text Wilt.  Then, you get to milestones.  Plenty of people have scored 45.  Many have done 50.  Some, 60.  70?  A couple.  80?  Two.  We all remember where we were during good and bad events in our life.  What were you doing during 9/11, Wilt’s 100-point game, the Miracle on Ice, end of the Cold War (Rocky IV), etc.?  I probably am exaggerating. I believe my jaw was dropped on the floor like a cartoon character in Bugs Bunny when I watched the second half of his 81 point game.  Listen, we are not all going to be Don Larsen, throwing no-hitters in the biggest games of our lives (MJ’s performances in playoffs is why I think he is the best).  But, scoring 81 plus points in ANY NBA game is beyond phenomenal.  That is point #1.

Let’s talk about loyalty.  Kobe A) didn’t switch teams and B) didn’t demand trades and won multiple titles with TWO totally different flights of Lakers.  I always say that I will never diss MJ because he Played with the hand that he was dealt.  I think the same is with Kobe.  He never complained.  He won with everyone.  He knew what his role was on the team.  He had no interest in forming “super-teams.”  He did it…right.  Remember that Clyde, Charles, and Karl tried to beat the system? 

Let’s talk about high school.  I HATE the college rule about having to go to school because of a very simple reason.  There are a couple players who come through that are too special to waste on college.  I don’t want to see them in college EXCEPT to promote college hoops.  But, we ALL know they are wasting their time, our time, the school’s time.  We get it.  Examples of guys who were meant to go to the big time straight from high school.  Moses Malone.  Kevin Garnett.  LeBron James.  Kobe Bryant.  Can we continue to chance watching these obvious NBA players play ANY college games?  No.

Let’s talk about evolution.  MJ just dunked on everyone initially.  When he lost a step, he altered his game.  His jump shot became lethal, instead of us watching his straddle some 7’ center, and we were amazed.  Kobe started us out with also dunking on everyone.  He had that magical jump shot already, but we didn’t notice it because of his other majestical skills.  He played with a young stud in the middle who could rap and had an aquarium in his car trunk (he actually did, people).  He played with an aging slow center with two lock down swing man’s (not Shaq, people…different team totally).  He played with several point guards.  He played in the city that had already housed Magic, and Kareem, two guys with a beef to be on Rushmore, he played with slow white guys, he played with slow black guys, he played with anyone and everyone.  He embraced being a Laker and they embraced him back.

Let’s talk about skills.  The jab step.  I love Melo, but he is a poor man’s Kobe.  Melo did it when he needed another three or long two to get him to scoring average for his regular season, which mostly ended at 82 games.  Kobe jabbed when the game, series, or title was on the line.  I have played a lot of ball, but there is no way I would want to face up Kobe in a game unless it was a photo opp.  There is no way I want to be solo on the wing, facing the Big O, MJ, LeBron, or Dr. J.  Just no way.  Kobe, you WERE the Black Mamba in your prime.  You were the player NO one would talk shit about being able to guard, because no one could, and everyone in the arena and on the court KNEW it. 

Let’s talk about respect.  You ALWAYS had respect for the great legends before you.  I never heard you complain about stats, media, being discounted for any change of era items.  You just played the game.  You would salute the past greats, give promise to future greats, and stay in your area.  Props.

Let’s talk about jersey numbers.  George McCloud had #24 when he came to the Lakers.  He ended up scoring almost exactly 50% of his points with #8 and #24 (I didn’t know before the split was that close).  16k with each, ballpark.

Let’s talk about his off the court endeavors.  He preached about the WNBA.  He was a poet, he was in movies, and he spoke his mind on relevant topics that we care about.  He basically understood that he needed to be more than just an athlete.  He was part of society.  This makes the statement that the random guy made more disturbing.  Kobe was much more than a basketball player.  You didn’t need to follow sports to understand how he integrated.  

Let’s talk about titles.  He liked Lord of the Rings, and he almost became exactly that.

Let’s talk about sadness.  I get it.  There are groups already bitching about Kobe dying, and how we lost a cheater, and bad guy.  Well, let me correct you.  At some point, you have to judge a person on how they END up rather than how they start.  The person writing this didn’t start out great, but has evolved into a great friend, great husband, a getting to be a good human being.  So, I hope, and assume that Kobe did a similar transition.  He might not win man of the year in my book, your book, or the church’s book, but I DO know this.  If you know and love basketball, and understand truly the gifts that it needs to be the best, we lost one of the top 10 EVER in the sport.  Ever.  He was one of the greatest gifts to the basketball court, and he WILL be missed and cherished forever.

I am going to steal a line by Ramona Shelburne, from ESPN.  “You can’t capture a spirit like Kobe’s.  And you sure as hell can’t replace it.”

Love him.  Hate him.  But you better respect him, at least for his on-court activities.  I personally did not care for the guy, player, or personality.  But, when he died, I felt like I got punch in the gut.  And, I wrote all of the above spontaneously.  So, he obviously had an impact on me.  He changed the sport, our lives, and will never be forgotten.

Still not convinced?  Here.  https://kbco.iheart.com/content/2020-01-27-watch-kobe-bryant-perform-mozarts-moonlight-sonata/?Sc=editorial&Keyid=socialflow&Pname=local_social

RIP, Black Mamba.  You will be missed, cherished, and respected…forever.

This was a spontaneous blog.  You will get my Vegas pics, notes, and rest of sports blog stuff later this week.  This was more important.