I didn't know if I should post this but I've been feeling like this for awhile.

[TheNig]

It's amazing how the death of Kobe has me looking at the game differently. When he first died, I couldn't watch a game. I damn near stopped watching altogether. But as a little time went by, I started watching again, right before the All Star break.

On to my point about looking at the game differently...

I come in here and I still see the threads, about certain players coming up short or having a bad game and brehs giving them shyt about it. It's the typical Coli way and that's how it will always be. But for some reason, I just can't join along like I used to. As sad as this is, his death has had that kinda effect on me when watching the game. I've found it really hard to criticize these dudes who kill themselves to be the best at their profession and it really made me realize that the only reason why I was hatin' was because I know deep down that these dudes are the best at what they do.

I can't speak for anyone else in here or any other Laker/Kobe fan, but that's how it's been for me since January. Again, I really didn't know if I should share this with anyone but I finally said "fukk it" after holding this in since February.

 

[A.V.]

I feel you, breh. We often don’t stop to sit and reflect on how we sometimes view athletes (and by extension, all entertainers) in a somewhat subhuman way, as if they’re here on this earth purely for our own entertainment.

Seeing them as whole individuals with lives, families, dreams, fears and emotions is often difficult to do within the scope of a game. Trash talk will always be trash talk, and there’s a time and place for it, but there definitely is a certain level it should never be taken to due to basic human respect and the fragility of our mortality.

I was never a Kobe fan (I had a close friend who from grade school was such a stan, it used to annoy me, so I hated by default), but there’s no denying his greatness. His passing definitely still hurt and put things into perspective for me, as it did for many. Good thread, OP.

 

[CourtesyFlush]

I remember after Kobes death people were cutting Bron slack for once and saying "appreciate him while he's here". Man that didn't last, at least not on the coli

 

[Mandizi]

Real talk OP

I wasn't the biggest Kobe fan, but even before his death I acknowledged him as one of the all-time greats. I was saddened by his and his daughter's passing.

 

[Cereal_Bowl_Assassin]

I've always been that way..it always bothered me when people on message boards would say stuff about a player that they know they wouldn't say to theor face or saying that they hate so and so and want them to die...

I may not be a fan of a player but I won't disrespect because of it.

Knicks are trash though

 

[DoubleClutch]

Kobe thrived off the trash talk and criticism so I don’t think you should look at the game any differently

 

[KyokushinKarateMan]

Yall n*ggas soft asf in the seum

 

[DonKnock]

I’ve been trying to make this point over and over while that clown Walt says he hopes Harden dies on the court repeatedly.

You’re not going to get much traction, people love the stan wars.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

Shyt is just a game at end of day.

 

[DjMe]

Having a kid messed me up when it came to hating these guys.
I realized they're somebody's kid. To some mom out there, her baby boy is in the big leagues. To you or I, he's only a Knick, but to her, he's a true NBA player.

 

[THEREALBRAND]

A lot of it is good natured chirping between fans, but there are some mentally ill individuals on here that attach their self esteem to their favorite player. On most sites the mod would keep that behavior in check. Unfortunately the mod here not only encourages that behavior, but actively participates in it.