Sports means something different to everyone. Everyone has their own favorite team, their own memories of “where I was when…”, and that’s what makes sports great. No one person will feel the same about any one sporting event. We relate sports to our own lives, in our own way. It’s that uniqueness of experiences that brings all sports fans together, breaks down all barriers; white or black or brown, male or female, rich or poor, young or old — we are just sports fans. Each year, we at GoingFor2, give our writers a chance to share that experience, that emotion, that ‘one thing’ that stood out above all else in the past year. The sports story that mattered to them — big or small. The following is one such story. Enjoy…
Dear Kobe Bryant,
From the moment you first came into the league. Drafted by my Hornets, traded to L.A. for Vlade Divac — a trade you reportedly forced. I knew one thing:
I was going to hate you. Hate, driven by my fandom. Blinded by the love for my team, and my dislike for the Lakers.
That hate, however, quickly turned to respect. Watching you go from a 17-year kid to a dominant NBA player. One like we’d never seen before.
An 18-time all-star, an MVP, five-time champion, a husband, and a father.
For nearly half your life, you played the game you loved — and we loved you for it. For 20 years you inspired a generation. 20 years —a long career
— but a short life. 41 years young you were taken from us. Unexpectedly. Tragically. Unfairly.
People questioned how you would fare — post-basketball. How would you handle the void left by retirement? Could you survive without the game? And, as you always had, not only did you survive, you thrived.
You inspired us once again. Not with your athletic ability. Not with a buzzer-beater. In fact, not as a player at all, but as a father.
That is your legacy. Your pinnacle achievement. Gianna, Natalia, Bianka and Capri. Your daughters.
Gianna was lost too soon, but the four of them are your legacy. They weren’t fans They didn’t know ‘Kobe Bryant’ the basketball player. They didn’t know ‘the Black Mamba.’ They only knew one thing, Dad. – Written by Geoff Lambert, inspired by “Dear Basketball” by Kobe Bryant
Summary
This poem was inspired by Kobe Bryant’s poem “Dear Basketball” which was later turned into an award-winning animated short. Bryant was taken from us on January 26th, 2020 at the age of 41. I was 42 at the time of his passing and I have a daughter of my own. The stories that came out after his death of him as a father, on how he was thriving in his post-NBA life, truly hit home with me.
2020 has been a terrible year for so many things. From civil unrest to Covid to so many other things that I couldn’t possibly mention them all here, but when I sat down to think of what my annual year-end story was going to be about, it was an easy choice. Being a dad is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it will always be the best thing that ever happened to me, and that is why Kobe Bryant’s life, not death, is “The 2020 Sports Story that Mattered to Me”.
Below is the animated short that this article was based on. Below the video is the poem itself. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Dear Basketball,
From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks And shooting imaginary Game-winning shots In the Great Western Forum I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you. A love so deep I gave you my all From my mind & body To my spirit & soul.
As a six-year-old boy Deeply in love with you I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself Running out of one.
And so I ran. I ran up and down every court After every loose ball for you. You asked for my hustle I gave you my heart Because it came with so much more.
I played through the sweat and hurt Not because challenge called me But because YOU called me. I did everything for YOU Because that’s what you do When someone makes you feel as Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream And I’ll always love you for it. But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding My mind can handle the grind But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye. And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go. I want you to know now So we both can savor every moment we have left together. The good and the bad. We have given each other All that we have.Â
And we both know, no matter what I do next I’ll always be that kid With the rolled-up socks Garbage can in the corner :05 seconds on the clock Ball in my hands. 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 Love you always, Kobe
