Damn You Kobe!

Note: I had planned to post this on Monday but my son was sick and my job actually wanted to earn my salary this week so I didn’t have time to finish. Apparently they’re not paying me to make blog posts. Who knew?

Watching the last seconds tick away of Cavs vs. Lakers yesterday, I thought the same thing I’ve thought for the past 13 or so years: Damn you Kobe! I thought this would be another chance for him to get embarrassed on national TV, I thought Lebron would show him who’s boss and punish him. Didn’t happen. Kobe and the Lakers won and made it look rather easy. A lot of it had to do with Lamar Odom’s 28 and 17 rebounds but Kobe hit some tough shots right in Lebron’s grill when he needed to. Damn him!

I played basketball in high school and a little in junior college, so got to travel and see some of the really good players around my age group. Players like Stephon Marbury, K.G., Allen Iverson and a couple of other NBA players. These types of players let me know really quickly that basketball would end for me after junior college.( I also found out that I was only 5’11 and not 6’1) Anyway, I remember hearing about this kid in the Philadelphia area who was supposed to be like a mini Jordan. I watched him a couple of times on TV and thought that he had serious talent. Then came the infamous news conference when he announced that he was bypassing college and going straight to the NBA. I don’t know if it was his sunglasses on his peanut head, the suit that looked 5 sizes too big or the way he was mumbling his words but something really irked me about this kid. The feeling only grew stronger during his first season in the NBA, he came across as a whining baby who seldom passed the ball. I remember laughing deliriously when he shot 3 air balls in a row in that playoff series against the Utah Jazz. Ha ha ha. But then he grew out that boondocks’ afro and started to dominate. Even went to work against a fading Jordan a couple of times (Jordan did abuse him in one All-Star game though). Once Shaq came and the Lakers started winning titles again, I had to see his face basically everyday. And for a person who supposedly didn’t want to be compared to Jordan, he sure was starting to sound like Jordan. He started copying his pigeon toed walk, the way he chewed gum and even the Jordan’s fist pump when he would make a clutch shot at the end of games. He basically did everything but move to Chicago and start cheating on Juanita…… I met my wife in 2001 and I remember going to her dorm room and hanging out for the first time. I was sitting down and I could feel eyes staring at me from her dorm wall. I look up and it’s a computer print out Kobe Bean Bryant. I started an argument with her and stormed out of her room. That night I had to decide whether I could see myself with a woman who liked Kobe. Thankfully I snapped out of it and thankfully she didn’t look at me like an immature loser. (she did) Only Shaq was happier than me to see Kobe get in to trouble with his “rape” case in 2003. I never actually thought he raped that girl but I was glad to see some of that luster was coming off his squeaking clean image when it was clear that he wasn’t that clean. I was glad he didn’t go to jail for something he didn’t do but that didn’t stop me from laughing at him fake crying at his press conference. It took him a little while but he’s regained much of his reputation back, especially on the court.

With Lebron averaging close to a triple double while leading his team to 23 straight homes wins, I thought this could be the year that Lebron passes him as the best player in the NBA. Watching Sunday I first see Kobe on the bench before the game looking like someone just farted in his face, then we’re told that Kobe is “sick” and he threw up before the game. Great, just when I thought he didn’t have anything else to copy Jordan about now he wants to copy his famous “flu game”. He didn’t have the great stats that Jordan had in his flu game but he did play well and at times he looked well. Why Lebron didn’t post Kobe up when he outweighs him by 40 pounds, I’ll never know. Instead he was launching jumpers most of the night and had a horrible shooting game.

Will I continue to hate Kobe, I don’t know. I hated Jordan for torturing my Knicks all of those years but I was actually rooting for him the year when his father was murdered and they won the championship. So there’s still hope for Kobe. I’m not saying I want someone to murder his father, I just want him to be a little less corny.