“What Kobe Taught Me”

By Felicia Ingram

ESPN’s coverage of the final performance of Kobe Bryant got me thinking on Wednesday Night.

After teaching a class of second through fifth graders in Children’s Church, I found myself indulging in old media to watch Kobe’s Farewell.

I had taught a lesson on love but there was something I needed to take notes from.

TV has come a long way since 1996, Bryant’s draft year and even more since ‘92, the year of my birth. The High Definition Charter Communication connection made me feel close to Staples Center. After falling asleep, I woke up to ESPN’s 24/7 coverage of sports that seemed halted by a 37 year-old African-American High School educated man scoring 60 points on the youngest team in the NBA. By this point, SportsCenter had taken over but they managed to play Kobe’s epilogue and post game interview. I watched as his dream career came to a poetic end.

The message I reviewed from Bryant’s final game, eulogy and final court side, post game interview was this — excellence.

Bryant was not the product of talent exemplified but discipline exercised. There are no shortcuts in his journey. All there is the everyday grind of practice sessions.

The final interview with ESPN veteran reporter Lisa Salters.

I could feel Bryant hanging on every syllable, not wanting anything to come to an end. Salters gave one of the most important interviews of her career. The roars of Staples Center only added to the intimate conversation between the two.

Game recognized game. The game was an experienced reporter who’d been holding mics for about as long as Kobe had been throwing up misses and makes. Those questions fit seamlessly into the fabric of that night. Salters framed her questions just rights, milking Bryant of what we all wanted to hear. And each word was perfectly articulated from Bryant. The last question says it all!

(See interview)

Bryant left no stone left unturned and he gave his heart and soul to the game.

That got me thinking, will anyone ever be this great? My generation of athletes, students, musicians and talent are too in love with the glamorous moments of stardom. We want the diploma without the work, the championship without the steam.

Shortcuts.

Little do we know, that’s exactly what it takes to be great. I heard it said more than once that no flesh can glory in the presence of God. If we are excellent, we must know it’s author, otherwise we become inhumane puffs of black smoke, too big for our panty-hose.

(Mamba out)

I pondered on this thought as I watched my children’s church class lack the passion for reading and the fact that reading the bible at church is like going to the dentist for them. I also thought about the present age of communication. We have knowledge but not many truly understand.

This 37-year-old gave his all despite pain and high emotional craziness.

Will anybody in my generation ever be that great?

I couldn’t help but think about Linda Brice’s trophy case and the scripture, “The greatest among you is a servant.” Dr. Brice has countless honors and awards not because of her intelligence but because she never stops to give of herself. This made me think of me. Am I honoring the legacy of those who came before me or am I just taking shortcuts? Am I willing to do whatever it takes for my passion? Do I even have a passion? Am I too lazy to empty myself for something greater?

I’m a Christian but can I really say I exhausted everything out of every possible opportunity?

None of those words were said in that ESPN coverage of the Black Mamba speech but that is what I gleaned.

ESPN did a great job at conveying the message of #ThankYouKobe that wasn’t saddened. It was celebratory and fitting. The message of Kobe’s golden legacy was their, too. You felt every emotion along with Bryant — relief, happiness, joy and triumph.

Nothing was contrived about the Salters-Bryant interview. It was more like old friends chalking it up after a day’s work.

That night I saw one who was a blend between new school thought and an old school mentality. One of the things he talked about was commitment to a process and a people. This in a world where divorce is as common as a cold.

The retiring of Kobe Bryant makes me want to do more than wonder and self-reflect. There are ducks I need to get in a row, priorities I need to reset and processes to complete. When it is all said and done, I don’t want to say I didn’t exhaust myself fully to the things I love.

While Bryant’s legacy is ending, there are new ones just starting and more work yet to be done.

This was a blog post for my Survey of Mass Communication class taught by Tori Cliff at the UofM Lambuth.