01/26/20
On Sunday, January 26th 2020, a helicopter transporting Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Christina Mauser, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, and Ara Zobayan crashed leaving no survivors. Many of us will never forget where we were when we heard the news. How it made us feel, what it made us think, who it made us reach out to just to say “I love you.”
It’s been a dark 24 hours since I was enjoying that Sunday afternoon with some of my closest friends at a nautical themed bar on one of the most beautiful days Fort Lauderdale has seen all Winter when a friend ran up and yelled it. “Kobe Bryant died!” We were in the middle of taking a group photo and in an instant everything changed.
I immediately thought back to one of the coolest moments of my life which was dancing the halftime show at a Heat home game. It must have been 2002 or 2003 and that night we played the Lakers. It was during the Kobe-Shaq era. The cast of Martin was courtside and I’ll never forget the rush I felt on that court, which I can only imagine is .05% of what the players feel when they’re out there making history. The NBA is special and the deep loss that’s being felt all over the world goes to show how impactful Kobe’s life was.
Me on the left
Kobe was someone that most of us weren’t lucky enough to know personally - but the fact that every single person felt instantly heartbroken and confused when they found out says a lot. First there was shock, then disbelief, then the waiting. Waiting for confirmation and waiting for the full details. After it was clear that it was no misprint, no hoax, no joke - it became real. Another page in history. Another nine lives cut short.
I’ve heard some pretty awful takes on this loss but the most insensitive one is that someone who isn’t a hardcore Lakers or NBA fan shouldn’t give a shit. Or that we shouldn’t care because people die every day. This is akin to the few who told me I shouldn’t care about Trump being President because I was living abroad for a few years. As a lifelong Heat fan, I never owned Kobe gear or considered myself a huge fan of his but all of us can agree that we respected the hell out of him and his intense love for the game. We all yell “Koooobe!” when we throw crumpled papers into a trash can or even shoot a basket. He’s a legend. An icon. And nothing can or will ever change that.
Credit: Markus Prime (@markus.effin.prime)
Growing up in the 90’s, the debate was always “Kobe or Jordan?” As a kid, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my brother and his friends who all played basketball and would debate it to death. Kobe or Jordan, Kobe or Johnson, Kobe or Chamberlain - the list goes on, but the constant was always Kobe or….? To this day players aim to reach Kobe’s level. In fact, the day before Kobe passed, Lebron James passed his all time scoring record. THE DAY BEFORE. The last thing Kobe Bryant shared on social media was a photo of them - him congratulating Lebron for his feat.
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7xOgFjnuiO/ - “On to #2 @kingjames! Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next. 💪🏾”
This is a frankly unbelievable tragedy that’s left the entire world overwhelmed with sadness. I can’t imagine what the energy in Los Angeles is like right now and how it will be forever changed after this - but it seems like this loss is one that everyone is impacted by. When celebrities, artists, athletes, or anyone well known for giving their all to what they do dies, it’s a bizarre kind of loss you feel when you don’t actually know them. I have no memory tied to Kobe Bryant specifically but rather memories of him always being a constant hero. His big bright smile, his overwhelming love toward his family, his silly personality, and his generosity and constant support for his friends. He was a genuinely good man.
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4TT0tEn_uJ/
I believe that what makes his death, as well as the death of his daughter and the other passengers on that flight so horrifying is that he was a man who embodied everything we as humans strive for. Unending passion in his career, a strong work ethic, unconditional love for his family, a vigor to live every moment like it’s your last, to never give up and follow your dreams. These are the things we classify as a true success story not just as a NBA legend but as a human being.
To consider this and hear the news that his life ended in such a gut wrenching way is truly hard to stomach. I, someone not even particularly tied to Kobe or his career, have been physically ill on and off since I heard the news. I find myself losing my breath and redeeming myself by taking exaggeratedly deep breaths to make up for it. It feels heavy, the harsh reminder that we never know when our time or our loved ones times will be up. I’ve even lost my appetite throughout the day because it’s nauseating to think about. You can be a perfect athlete, a loving father, a great friend and mentor - but in the end your life can be cut short at any moment.
This loss reminds us that life is short and that with hard work, persistence, and discipline you can reach unimaginable heights. That nothing but death is guaranteed, we decide what we do during our short stay on this Earth and all that we have and all that exists, quite literally, is NOW.
“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that ... when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”