Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash yesterday. It still doesn’t seem real. No, that’s not right. I don’t want it to be real. You see Los Angeles is a Lakers town. And when that helicopter crash into the side of a mountain yesterday, the city’s heart stopped beating for a few seconds.
I can remember as a kid loving my Los Angeles Lakers. I lived and died with the purple and gold of the 80’s. I had the jersey’s, the shirts, and the jackets. Magic and his band of dunking flying athletes were Gods to me. And the hated Celtics were the enemy.
Then that era was gone. Showtime got older and slower. We had some tough times in the 90’s and when Magic announced he was HIV Positive, I cried. My hero, that led the Lakers, as far as I knew would never play again.
I still loved my Lakers with Nick the quick and Eddie Jones though. But they lacked that swag and killer instinct, not to mention the championships. Don’t get me wrong, they were still fun to watch and should carry a special place in every Lakers fans heart.
The problem was L.A. loves a champion. I know you think your city does too, but Los Angeles is a little bit different. We embrace and expect championships. If the team you were a part of didn’t bring us one, well, thanks but let’s see who comes next.
Then the Lakers landed Shaq and drafted Kobe. The stars aligned L.A. and we knew special times were ahead. You know the story from here on. Shaq and Kobe dominated the NBA. Bringing the City of Angels 3 NBA championships in a row. Then after the feud Kobe went on to win 2 more with Pau, D. Fish and Lamar.
Kobe became Los Angeles. He was adored (and hated). He became a living legend in a town that is overrun with legends. From Koufax, to Kershaw, to Jackie, to Magic, to Chick Hearn, to Vin Scully, to Gretzky, to Valenzuela, to Lasorda, to Kareem, to Wilt, to Jerry Buss, to Beckham, to Bo Jackson, to Eric Dickerson. Kobe may have eclipsed them all.
I cried yesterday when I heard the news. I know a lot of people here did. It hit us all hard, right in the gut. Kobe transcended into something mythical and magical in L.A. A lot of people, including me, felt like he was a friend or a family member. I know it sounds weird, and it probably is a little bit, but that’s how we saw him.
He wasn’t the only only who lost their lives in the crash. His daughter Gianna sadly was also killed along with:
- John Altobelli: The Orange County College (OCC) baseball coach was on board to attend the basketball game with his daughter.
- Keri Altobelli: The wife of John, she was traveling with her family.
- Alyssa Altobelli: The daughter of John, Alyssa was a teammate of Gianna Bryant at the Mamba Academy.
- Christina Mauser: An assistant girls basketball coach at a K-8 private school in Orange County.
- Sarah and Payton Chester: The mother and daughter duo were also on board.
- Ara Zobayan: Experienced instrument -certified pilot
I am saddened and devastated by all those who lost their lives and all of their loved ones who are left to pick up the pieces. I send them nothing but love and strength in these hard and difficult times
The City lost one of it’s greatest. All of us Angelinos are still hurting. But when this newest edition of players wearing the purple and gold jersey’s of the Lakers wins the NBA championship, we will all look up to the heavens, shoot that piece of waded up paper into the closest trash can, and say “KOBE!”.
