Hey Y'all it's your favorite SportsGal89 Innnnnnnn the Buildin'!!!! The last time I posted was ~3 years ago. There was a lot that happened in between year 1 & 2 in the sports world that made it less fun to bring you my traditional. Then last year (2020) was the whirlwind, of a lot of movement in the sports industry and I will get to that eventually but today, this day, January 26th, there is a reason that it took me a year to actually write.
His name was Kobe Bean Bryant, he was born August 23rd, 1978. I first learned of Kobe when he took Brandy to the prom. My dad loved the Lakers so I followed along, but it wasn't until a life change (that is not for this blog) that caused me to dig my heels in and commit to then, number 8.
Kobe was a comet... You waited a lifetime to catch a glimpse. Yes, I grew up in the era of Jordan, but Kobe was my generation's Jordan, in that we literally watched his entire start before our eyes, before we really understood what greatness was in front of us.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet... He soared across that court at rapid speed, with this energy and momentum and just fire that you didn't want to catch just a piece, you wanted the fullness of his enormity.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet... You didn't want to blink, because you wanted to be sure you actually saw his light streak in front of you.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet.... I was grateful to watch like many his ups and his downs. His passion, his drive, his fight for the game that he loved.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet... and like a comet (and a human) wasn't perfect. Kobe needed to be held accountable for his actions, like we all do.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet... His first streak into the orbit wasn't to be his last. The next set of glimpses we were to catch of his was to be the greatest shower we had witness.
💜💛
His name was Kobe Bean Bryant, he died unexpectedly on January 26, 2020, along with 8 other people (including his daughter) who should be remembered every time we say his name:
- John Altobelli
- Keri Altobelli
- Alyssa Altobelli
- Christina Mauser
- Sarah Chester
- Payton Chester
- Ara Zobayan
- Gianna Bryant
Like a comet, Kobe Bean Bryant came swiftly, left a mark and has many waiting to catch him streak across that brilliant sky again.
I never met Kobe Bean Bryant. We weren't friends. He never knew my name. Yet, like many my heart split hearing the news. I think many of us have the memory of where we were.
It was a Sunday. I was meeting my girls as we prepared to train for a 10 mile race we planned on running in the summer of 2020. I had left church, was on the metro and meeting them at one of our major transit centers. I hadn't checked my phone, so I missed the group chat. Trying to find them, I didn't even see the messages above the one I was typing. I eventually spotted them, but didn't pick up on anything until they got closer.
Whit said, "Did you hear about Kobe?"
My reply, "Kobe, who?"
Whit: "Bryant."
I looked at Whit, confused. "What do you mean?"
Whit hadn't even spoken the full words before I backed up "no, no, no, no, no..."
The space around us started to make noise. I heard two guys talking about Kobe.
I opened my phone, looked at Twitter, searched his name and fell to my knees. I was sick -- NOT KOBE.
I felt drained. Drained. I called my dad, Kobe was OUR comet. My dad didn't know. I broke the news to him and then I broke. Kobe was OUR comet.
💜💛
Like many my heart was ripped as the story of his death began to come to light. Then learning that his daughter and others were killed too. And learning more of the lives of who they all were.
I couldn't sleep. I cried myself to sleep for days. My friends text me asking if I was okay. My family called me checking in. Kobe was MY comet.
Each morning before I was fully awake, Kobe's name would flash in my memory. And then my heart broke and my energy shifted to those who knew, loved and cared for Kobe. He was THEIR Kobe. Every tear, every thought pushed my heart to lift up those left behind. The world rallied to Vanessa Bryant, wife and mother of Kobe's #GirlDad tribe. Who lost both Kobe and Gianna that day. Gianna's friends, coaches and others connected to their Mamba team. Vanessa is strength. She is the boldest part of the comet, the one we don't always pay attention to as we keep our eyes set on there the comet moves to. Vanessa is the tail, as powerful and vibrant as the head, she is the momentum that keeps on going. She is the streak we see.
Every tear, every thought, circles back to her and all those left behind. The ones who lived life, who had a relationship, who knew them closely. We all caught glimpses of the comet, but these are the ones who were in the orbit with them. Whew! 💜💛
So today, is the first day in a year that I have needed to write. Chosen to write to say Thank You to those in the orbit, who let us be in awe of your comets.
💜💛
Kobe was a comet, gone too soon. Just like a comet, if you blink when it streaks. I for sure will be keeping my eye on heaven to see him streak by once again.
💜💛
Photo captured by me (Keesha Ceran) Lakers vs Wizards
Kobe wears number 24
Washington, DC December 6, 2008
