Anyone that’s paid any attention to me for the past 15 years knows that I’ve probably never hated on an athlete more than I’ve hated on Kobe. I’ve spent so many hours off and online arguing with his fans. Barbershops, cookouts, Internet forums. Even with my own brother who is the worlds biggest Kobe Stan.
You always hear the cliche that love and hate are the same emotion. I’ve had to come to grips with this being a reality the past few days.
I hated him because deep down I respected him so much.
We grew up as Jordan Stans. He was a god to us. We followed the way he moved, played and the way he wore his shorts and shoes. If we were the best player on the team and got to pick our jersey number we all wanted #23. My entire free throw routine was a direct mimicking of Mike. To the last detail. We would stick out our tongues when we played at the rec center in elementary.
We ALL wanted to be like Mike. The reason I hated on Kobe so much is because he was close to my age and was the only one that came close. He achieved what we always aspired to be. He succeeded where we all failed.
Respect on this post...
What’s strange is, from my memory only Lakers fans a some others liked Kobe. Most didn’t like Kobe, they said he was arrogant, stuck up and too full of him at.
After the incident in Colorado, he softened up a bit and became more approachable and more human.
Even with that said, most fans didn’t like him. It wasn’t until his last couple of years or really when he announced it was his last year playing when he was truly celebrated.
Opposing players didn’t like him, but they respected him. The last few years of his life he embraced others and let them into who he was and why he was about.
Before that, it was basketball and his family and that was it.