THE POP EXPOSE ‘Remembering Kobe Bryant’ By Mitchell Smith!
Prayers to Kobe and all the families and friends involved.
Last Sunday we lost one of the all time greatest NBA players. Kobe Bryant came straight out of High school and was ready to compete in the NBA. His positive attitude and drive to win compliment by his raw talent made him the great player he was on the court, but his drive and positive force also poured out to the communities he was involved with. Kobe obviously was in the spotlight for years, many times in games where he just took over the game or series and where he was undoubtedly the best player on the floor. After he retired there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Kobe until he and 8 others died in a helicopter crash last Sunday. It was very shocking and very emotional for so many people.
Watching people talk about him and seeing their emotions and how Kobe had impacted their lives was very emotional to me. Watching players talk emotionally about his death, players that I grew up watching on TV really hit me hard. These may be high profile people, but all in all they are just human like you and I. Yes I understand there were other people who died in the crash including his daughter whos dream was to play basketball at UConn, but Kobe lived on the big stage from the time he was 17. He was a high profile person that was such a positive influence on every person he spoke to. He was living proof that your dreams can be achieved with hard work, dedication, and most of all pursuing what you love. So many great stories poured out such as Kobe congratulating Brianna Stewart on recovering from an injury, or chatting with Shaq’s son about wanting to transfer out of UCLA. So many interviews from people like Derrick Fisher, Kenny Smith, and Ice Cube to name a few close friends.
Out of all the records and memorable championships I think the greatest thing in my mind was how Kobe poured all of his hate and frustrations out on to the basketball court. Off the court he genuinely wanted people to succeed, he wanted people to enjoy life and live loving what they wanted to love and making their dreams come true. It was a sad day not only losing one of the all time greats on and off the court, but loosing 8 others in a tragic accident. They will all be missed in their respective communities and my heart goes out to all the families and friends who lost someone in this tragic accident. Kobe has touched so many, family members, friends, and fans over the years. The stories will come in for some time about the words of encouragement, the inspiration, and how he changed so many people’s lives across the world. I was listening to Shaq talk about him on Inside the NBA, and he was so broken up it was hard at times for him to get his thoughts out. One thing Shaq said stuck out to me that everyone should do. Shaq said “he wished he had reached out to various people more and made that phone call or that visit with a friend or family member”.
Life is short and you never know when you will never get a chance to talk to a special person in your life again. So with that I leave you with my own wisdom, every morning make sure you say goodbye and I love you to your children, family member, spouse, and/or significant other, if you have an argument with someone kiss and make up, and if you are missing someone call them or go visit them, because there is no guarantee any of us will be here tomorrow. Be sure and MAKE THE JUMP to the forum and share your thoughts with us!
