Dear Mamba;
It’s been around 24 hours and everything still doesn’t feel real. Like so many others, the initial response was utter disbelief and a common theme of, “This can’t be real.” When I got the first notification saying that a crash involving you had occurred, the words that headline everywhere are ones I can’t soon forget.
“Kobe Bryant Dead at 41 in Helicopter Crash”
I dropped my phone immediately in the middle of the mall when I was walking to my car on a rare trip back home in Birmingham. Sadly, like so many others, my first thoughts were to check a social which now Twitter has become a leader if not the leader in news. Refreshing the timeline as often as we could, we scrambled to try and find any updates still hoping the news wasn’t true. Next, we were sending messages to loved ones and friends with the same thoughts that everything is fake and the story isn’t real. Many of us didn’t believe the first legit outlet being TMZ and several weren’t going to believe anything until we saw Woj, Shams or Sportscenter confirm it. As more outlets continued saying you were gone, the final blow came out and Woj delivered the news that shocked the world.
The world froze in that moment.
An idol. An icon. How could this be? The toughest player we saw grace the hardwood. A master at his workmanship. Mamba Mentality. KOBE. 24. 8. Gone in an instant.
I didn’t move from my car for almost two hours. Searching your name everywhere just hoping that it was fake.
Within minutes, tributes poured in from everywhere. People rushed to the Staples Center, the place that you called home for all 20 years of your career. NBA legends, current players, fans, broadcasters, and people who might not have followed you shared one thing in common as the world stood still.
Respect.
Respect enough to realize that the world had just lost an enormous figure. Not just for your numerous on the court accolades. Not just for the charitable works off the court. Not for the fact that you were a well-known father raising four phenomenal girls along with your queen Vanessa. But it was respect for your impact.
I think you started to realize in the near four years post-retirement the true impact you left on people. In so many interviews while you were playing, you talked about how you would play mind games and study your opponents. Post-retirement though, you mentioned players that you watched, respected, trained and even gave knowledge too. Even the fans who hated you, grew more of an appreciation for you now that you weren’t destroying their team. People could finally sit back and realize just how truly special you were on the court.
Off the court, the world finally got to see a personal side of Mamba Mentality. The love you shared for your daughters could be highlighted by the videos and pictures you posted of your family. Especially with our fallen angel Gigi. We constantly saw the dad side of you as you were always at the games. Coaching her and her teammates or giving knowledge to her such as the now-infamous video of you and Gigi talking courtside at a game.
So many posts that many of us shared sent out reminders for us to hold our loved ones and cherish them and tell them we love them. But how often is that momentary? Within tragedies, we are instantly reminded of that. Though you only recently started sharing intimate moments with your family, we know that you’ve always had love for yours. Not saying that we don’t, but hopefully, those moments you shared can motivate us to stop making momentary acts but to keep them consistent.
Or maybe something as simple and bittersweet as balling up a piece of paper, throwing it into a trash can, holding your follow, and yelling out KOBE as so many of us have done through the years.
Or maybe the impact you started showing through your brilliance in other areas. We knew how much the game meant to you, but Dear Basketball put it over the top. I mean an Academy Award and an Oscar. Only you Mamba.
Mamba Mentality was much more than just on the court. It was a lifestyle. You stamped that in a recent video that you had this month with someone who’s mother was fighting cancer. You uplifted her to keep fighting while giving a fan a moment for life. You uplifted us all. To keep fighting for our dreams while out working everybody.
I don’t really have much left to say. This wasn’t how Mamba was supposed to leave us. We wanted you to get older and stick around the game. You had so much knowledge that we will never know. We all hate this happened.
I’m reminded of something you said that will forever stick within us.
“Heroes come and go but Legends live forever.”
And Mamba, you certainly are a Legend.
I just want to send my deepest condolences to the other victims. To the family of John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, my thoughts are with you during this rough time. To the families of Sarah and Peyton Chester and Christina Mauser and to Ara Zobayan, my thoughts are extended to you as well.
To Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, trust me the basketball world knew you had next up. The guidance of your father was only the start of unlocking your true Mamba Mentality. Your life may have been tragically cut short at the young age of 13 but trust me, we knew how special you were becoming. You helped your father regain a new found love for basketball and a legacy was being created through you.
