By now there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of stories written about Kobe Bryant since the helicopter crash tragedy. Stories by people with a lot more renown and knew Kobe much, much better than I. But I had a personal experience with Kobe Bryant. That experience clearly demonstrates as much as any of the other stories, what kind of man he was. Let’s take a look at my personal experience with Kobe Bryant.
Before getting into that experience, a little background is necessary. I was in the Navy assigned to landing craft unit 1635 onboard the USS Peleliu. The ship was in the port of Darwin, Australia on 9/11. We departed as soon as we could. We were one of the first task forces to arrive in the Pakistan operating area. The landing craft brought Marines and supplies for the Afghanistan operation.
We were eventually released from the area and returned to San Diego in early 2002. Shortly after getting back, I found myself at Knott’s Berry Farm, a large amusement park, in Southern California. I heard a huge commotion and turned to see none other than Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa. They were enjoying the rides like everyone else, but of course, surrounded by his security staff.
There was a staff member that I approached and I told him that I had just returned from Afghanistan. I asked if it were possible to get an autograph of Kobe. After providing some identification, he spoke to the man in charge of the detail and then to Kobe himself. The staff member told me that once Kobe and his wife got off the ride they were getting on, he would meet with me.
While they were on the ride, I went into a store and bought a Lakers hat so that I would have something for him to sign. After finishing the ride, we all went to an area that was away from the public’s view and I was cleared to see him.
Kobe waved for me to approach and he shook my hand. He asked if it were true that I had just gotten back from overseas. After telling him that it was, he thanked me for my service and shook my hand. He asked for the hat and we had a brief conversation about the Laker’s next game against the Utah Jazz.
He finished by saying that he appreciated everything that I had done and wished me well. I thanked him for the chance to meet and the autograph. We then went our separate ways. I have that hat to this very day under a clear plastic protective case.
It meant a lot to me that he would take the time to meet with someone in the military and give me the personal attention that he did. As I think back on the experience and having heard the stories about Kobe Bryant since the crash, one thing is clear. He clearly and simply cared about others. My personal experience with him shows that was the kind of man he was and that, more than anything he accomplished on a basketball court, should be part of his everlasting legacy.
