OT: - Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash | Page 6 | The Boneyard

OT: Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash

Status
Not open for further replies.

UconnU

Demolish the XL center.
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
7,582
Reaction Score
30,764
There weren’t many athletes in our lifetime who were the best at their sport and beloved by everyone. The list is maybe a handful of names...Jordan, Tiger, Gretzky, and Kobe. Maybe the saddest aspect is that his post playing life seemed to be centered around something more important, Fatherhood. He was clearly consciously trying to make an impact here spreading the message of how important being a good father/parent is leading by example. Maybe in death this will become more apparent. Maybe that’s the silver lining.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
6,299
Reaction Score
13,937
I was deeply saddened when I heard his passing. All I kept thinking about were his daughters in particularly Gianna. I was in the ER today so didnt get much news other than he had died in a helicopter crash which was unbelievable in itself but when I got home and turned on the news to find out what happened I immediately found out his daughter was killed and it was a gut punch and I literally let out an audible gasp and oh no. I wept. RIP to everyone lost in this tragedy and my heart goes out to all the families. This one really stings.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2011
Messages
48,007
Reaction Score
161,466

UC313

Knucklehead
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
1,281
Reaction Score
4,470
Im still stunned. The outpouring of sports greats reflecting on Kobe is unreal. Man. Travel well Mamba.
 
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
3,918
Reaction Score
9,185
Possibly a little known fat about him: He could speak Italian because he grew up in Italy because his father played bball for various teams around the country. Also had a solid grasp on the Spanish language and did a few interviews on Spanish radio.

Would a nice tribute to Kobe be, for the Lakers vs Clippers game coming up on the 28th, all Lakers Jerseys have #24 on the back, all Clippers Jerseys have #8 on the back? Would be somewhat of an annoyance for refs but I think this is a circumstance that calls for it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
16,560
Reaction Score
19,293
There weren’t many athletes in our lifetime who were the best at their sport and beloved by everyone. The list is maybe a handful of names...Jordan, Tiger, Gretzky, and Kobe. Maybe the saddest aspect is that his post playing life seemed to be centered around something more important, Fatherhood. He was clearly consciously trying to make an impact here spreading the message of how important being a good father/parent is leading by example. Maybe in death this will become more apparent. Maybe that’s the silver lining.
I think the list is a little more than a handful, particularly in the NBA.
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
16,449
Reaction Score
31,326
Kobe was the 'new' Michael Jordon. He made his retirement somewhat palatable. I always thought he was shortchanged coming right after Mike, but perhaps it was most appropriate. He saved the league by bringing the next generation into the basketball realm. Who the hell can say I don't need Shaq to win Championships, AND actually prove it??? Only Kobe can.

True Ambassador and deserving of all accolades, honor and tributes.
 

Husky25

Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
18,505
Reaction Score
19,475
Sad to hear this. I was never a tremendous fan of Kobe as a basketball player. It didn't help that he played for the Lakers. I could recognize and appreciate his ability, but I never liked what I saw in him as arrogance and my feelings about him were sort of cemented by his Colorado incident.

I also thought his uniform number change was a publicity stunt to rehab his image and a way to make more money after Colorado.

Over the years, my views on that have softened. Though he undoubtedly made money off the number change, it also seemed symbolic of the cocky scared shirtless kid growing into Kobe the confident young man and regardless of how he or his daughter felt about UConn, he was a Dad (and two years younger than I).

Anyway, this came across my TTL, and is the best tribute I've seen over the last 20 hours. Note particularly the PA emphysis on the 24.

 
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
4,606
Reaction Score
6,998
I still don't want to believe it's real. Im not really an NBA fan or a Laker fan, but Kobe was an incredible human. This one hurts. RIP to a legend.
 
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
10,818
Reaction Score
28,229
There weren’t many athletes in our lifetime who were the best at their sport and beloved by everyone. The list is maybe a handful of names...Jordan, Tiger, Gretzky, and Kobe. Maybe the saddest aspect is that his post playing life seemed to be centered around something more important, Fatherhood. He was clearly consciously trying to make an impact here spreading the message of how important being a good father/parent is leading by example. Maybe in death this will become more apparent. Maybe that’s the silver lining.

Not to nitpick, but Jordan, Tiger and Kobe most certainly weren't beloved by everyone. By many accounts, Jordan and Kobe were difficult as teammates because they expected a level that not everyone was talented or wired to deliver. And I don't know if Kobe was known to raise the level of his teammates, as much as he was to take over the game on his own. Again, I hope that doesn't come off negative...because it's really what fueled his (their) greatness.
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
16,560
Reaction Score
19,293
Not to nitpick, but Jordan, Tiger and Kobe most certainly weren't beloved by everyone. By many accounts, Jordan and Kobe were difficult as teammates because they expected a level that not everyone was talented or wired to deliver. And I don't know if Kobe was known to raise the level of his teammates, as much as he was to take over the game on his own. Again, I hope that doesn't come off negative...because it's really what fueled his (their) greatness.
I'm not saying anything negative either, and perhaps because I'm not an NBA guy I see many other athletes fall into that category.
Ali, Pele, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Magic, Larry, Dr. J, Jeter, Jack Nicklaus, many QB's and too many baseball heroes to list.
Soccer & Car Racing, forgetaboutit.
 

ClifSpliffy

surf's up
Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Messages
9,512
Reaction Score
14,295
I seem to recall extolling the hoop virtues of 'kobe the great' here last year, and gettin' pert near booed off the stage. now, the fullness of time has caused some to reflect on the beauty that was kobe. dude could ball, in a championship kinda way. 81. he and wilt are prolly arguing about who could get more buckets up there in heaven. rip, old tv friend.
have sum.
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
3,472
Reaction Score
8,610
I seem to recall extolling the hoop virtues of 'kobe the great' here last year, and gettin' pert near booed off the stage. now, the fullness of time has caused some to reflect on the beauty that was kobe. dude could ball, in a championship kinda way. 81. he and wilt are prolly arguing about who could get more buckets up there in heaven. rip, old tv friend.
have sum.


I think his 60 points through 3 quarters is more impressive. Who knows what he would have had if he played the 4th quarter
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
16,560
Reaction Score
19,293
Extremely heavy fog. There is an audio and the pilot sounded calm the whole time.

“I couldn’t see anything, not even a silhouette,” he said as he looked across the street where the steep mountainside rose, the grassy slope now littered with wreckage. “My first thought was what in the world is a helicopter doing out here in this fog?”

For about 20 seconds on Sunday morning, Daehlin followed the sound of the helicopter as it swept over the church parking lot and south toward the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains. It sounded even and normal, but, he said, “it sounded too low.”



 
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Messages
98
Reaction Score
240
I was a Toronto fan so back in the early days of Kobe's career so I was rooting for Vince Carter and not a fan of Kobe. I thought he was always a bit overrated, a bit of a ball hog and the Laker's dynasty seemed unfair especially since I grew up on Shaq and Penny.

But what I really liked about Kobe was that he didn't fit into typical basketball star stereotype. He was extremely intelligent and worldly, which is rare in the NBA. It's the reason why Ray is one of my favorites because after Carter left Toronto the narrative was that no free agent wanted to play in Toronto because most of the players were completely ignorant about anything outside the US. Canada is a foreign country, it's cold, taxes, French, no good food, nothing to do, etc. Ray was the only one who said,"Yeah of course I would sign for Toronto, it's a world class city".

Kobe was like that. He had real interests outside of basketball that I could relate to. His daughter wanted to go to UConn, so he was a fan of Geno's & Pat's programs as well. He was a huge fan of Messi and Barcelona, my favorite team. He championed women's basketball, perhaps because of his support of his daughter. He was getting into film, documentaries, short stories, teaching basketball. He was also a true student of the game, there was an authenticity about his love of basketball that I appreciated like many fans of my generation. Beyond all the 'Mamba Mentality' branding, he was inspirational because he's one of the few stars I could actually relate to in the modern NBA. LeBron has that a little, but he isn't nearly as eloquent as Kobe and it seems almost forced and cliched compared to Kobe.

The saddest part is certainly Gianna and the other girls being on the plane as well. It would have been nice to see her carry on his legacy and he certainly believed that she would.

I think this is a huge loss and it's no telling what type of impact Kobe would have had helping to bring visibility of women's sports, soccer, film to his global fan base. A lot changed yesterday.
 
Joined
Dec 25, 2015
Messages
827
Reaction Score
2,983
Maybe not on this magnitude but a similar impact with alot of media attention was Payne Stewarts plane crash in 1999.
Very sad day for sports and family/father figure.

 
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Messages
1,892
Reaction Score
15,252
Incredibly sad on so many levels. And I think Gianna would have been a UConn great.
 
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
2,368
Reaction Score
9,517
Jordan was just about universally loved by the media and the public. The media protected the hell out of him, especially regarding things like him being a top-shelf jerk to his own teammates. To the general public, by the time of his retirement, he was a revered global icon. He changed so much about not just the NBA but professional sports as a whole. All of the endorsements and Nike/Jordan Brand, etc. Wearing suits to games, tremendously well-spoken, calculating his every move in front of the camera, etc. He transcended like no athlete before him. He was the first athlete who was a business all to its own.

Tiger wasn't quite universally loved because golf is such a stuffy sport and crusty old men didn't approve of his some aspects of his personality but still, I would say that Tiger was just about universally loved by the public. I have no comment on Gretzky since I'm not a hockey fan.

Kobe was never on that level. He had plenty of detractors from the start of his career. His brash cockiness rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Drama with Shaq, drama with Phil, his reputation as a gunner and being uncoachable, his inability to relate to teammates, etc. Being called an MJ wannabe. His public image was nowhere near as calculated and polished as MJs. To be fair though, Kobe grew up with a camera in his face and MJ did not. Kobe may be the most polarizing basketball player of all time. It is true that an entire generation of young hoopers did idolize him. One can have a spirited debate on just how great Kobe was and ranking the players of his era but one thing is not up for debate: he was the face of the NBA for 2000s. Shaq may have been better at one point, Duncan at another, LeBron at another, but Kobe was always the it guy for young kids. That is why you see such an outpouring of grief. For the whole generation who were too young to watch Jordan, they had Kobe.


One of the best parts of seeing an athlete's entire career--especially one that begins at age 17--is seeing them grow up in front of our eyes and how they mature and grow and learn from their mistakes. Not every athlete goes through that transition--many fail to do so and their lives take tragic turns--but Kobe certainly did. I think it was obvious just how intelligent a human being Kobe was. He learned as much off the court as he did on the court and much of it intersected. Not everyone has Derek Jeter's poise and wise-beyond-their-years perspective when they're 21 years old. Kobe certainly didn't have it but you can't fault him for it. The average 20-year-old kid is cocky and thinks they're invincible, let alone a guy who's one of the most talented basketball players in the world before he's old enough to legally drink. The breakup with Shaq didn't help him in the eyes of many. Colorado was brutal for his reputation. But towards the end of his career and into his retirement it was clear how much he'd grown as a man and a father and hopefully as a husband. He loved his children, had a passion for life away from basketball, he was an ambassador for the game of basketball, and he was open and available and supportive of the next generation of NBA players. He was the beloved older brother of the current generation of NBA stars.

I think Kobe's life was a deeply human experience. People are not perfect. Life is not perfect. Kobe had the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, all in the public eye, and some people hated him but many more loved him. I think his growth as a man is why this hurts so much for so many people. He had grown into a model citizen was dedicating his life to helping others and being a great family man. We saw that he was going to contribute to society even though his playing days were over. He was going to do good things. Right things. Helpful things. I was never a Kobe fan and I'm not one to follow pop culture or be bothered by celebrity deaths but I was taken aback at how much his death has shaken me. He was a legend.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
2,286
Reaction Score
2,965
I still don't want to believe it's real. Im not really an NBA fan or a Laker fan, but Kobe was an incredible human. This one hurts. RIP to a legend.
Outside of his ability to play basketball, what exactly made him an "incredible human" ?
 
Joined
May 7, 2015
Messages
761
Reaction Score
2,782
Jordan was just about universally loved by the media and the public. The media protected the hell out of him, especially regarding things like him being a top-shelf jerk to his own teammates. To the general public, by the time of his retirement, he was a revered global icon. He changed so much about not just the NBA but professional sports as a whole. All of the endorsements and Nike/Jordan Brand, etc. Wearing suits to games, tremendously well-spoken, calculating his every move in front of the camera, etc. He transcended like no athlete before him. He was the first athlete who was a business all to its own.

Tiger wasn't quite universally loved because golf is such a stuffy sport and crusty old men didn't approve of his some aspects of his personality but still, I would say that Tiger was just about universally loved by the public. I have no comment on Gretzky since I'm not a hockey fan.

Kobe was never on that level. He had plenty of detractors from the start of his career. His brash cockiness rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Drama with Shaq, drama with Phil, his reputation as a gunner and being uncoachable, his inability to relate to teammates, etc. Being called an MJ wannabe. His public image was nowhere near as calculated and polished as MJs. To be fair though, Kobe grew up with a camera in his face and MJ did not. Kobe may be the most polarizing basketball player of all time. It is true that an entire generation of young hoopers did idolize him. One can have a spirited debate on just how great Kobe was and ranking the players of his era but one thing is not up for debate: he was the face of the NBA for 2000s. Shaq may have been better at one point, Duncan at another, LeBron at another, but Kobe was always the it guy for young kids. That is why you see such an outpouring of grief. For the whole generation who were too young to watch Jordan, they had Kobe.


One of the best parts of seeing an athlete's entire career--especially one that begins at age 17--is seeing them grow up in front of our eyes and how they mature and grow and learn from their mistakes. Not every athlete goes through that transition--many fail to do so and their lives take tragic turns--but Kobe certainly did. I think it was obvious just how intelligent a human being Kobe was. He learned as much off the court as he did on the court and much of it intersected. Not everyone has Derek Jeter's poise and wise-beyond-their-years perspective when they're 21 years old. Kobe certainly didn't have it but you can't fault him for it. The average 20-year-old kid is cocky and thinks they're invincible, let alone a guy who's one of the most talented basketball players in the world before he's old enough to legally drink. The breakup with Shaq didn't help him in the eyes of many. Colorado was brutal for his reputation. But towards the end of his career and into his retirement it was clear how much he'd grown as a man and a father and hopefully as a husband. He loved his children, had a passion for life away from basketball, he was an ambassador for the game of basketball, and he was open and available and supportive of the next generation of NBA players. He was the beloved older brother of the current generation of NBA stars.

I think Kobe's life was a deeply human experience. People are not perfect. Life is not perfect. Kobe had the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, all in the public eye, and some people hated him but many more loved him. I think his growth as a man is why this hurts so much for so many people. He had grown into a model citizen was dedicating his life to helping others and being a great family man. We saw that he was going to contribute to society even though his playing days were over. He was going to do good things. Right things. Helpful things. I was never a Kobe fan and I'm not one to follow pop culture or be bothered by celebrity deaths but I was taken aback at how much his death has shaken me. He was a legend.
This is very well said. Excellent.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Online statistics

Members online
111
Guests online
2,329
Total visitors
2,440

Forum statistics

Threads
155,752
Messages
4,030,456
Members
9,864
Latest member
leepaul


Top Bottom