Invincible.
Image Credit - Sports Illustrated
Invincible. What does that word really mean? Webster’s Dictionary defines invincible as “too powerful to be defeated or overcome.” Talk about putting it into perspective… I’m going to say it again, too powerful to be defeated or overcome. Both virtues that easily define arguably the best player to ever play the game.
Let me just put it out there, Kobe was and is invincible. He was invincible on the basketball court, he was invincible in life. Perhaps that’s why as a collective, we are all having a terrible time processing the events that transpired on Sunday afternoon. If someone who is invincible can leave this world so quickly, what does that mean for us? It’s like as humans we can’t conceive the frailty of life until we see someone we deem invincible lose theirs. Is that why this stings so badly? Partly.
I lived in Los Angeles for eight years. To a massive city, who at the time, was void of an NFL team, we had the Lakers. What’s more, the Lakers were earning more rings than Elizabeth Taylor, year after year. This team was so fun to watch, they were inspiring, they gave us basketball at it’s very best. The Lakers were Los Angeles, and Kobe, well, he was the Lakers. We put our faith in Kobe, and spent the last dollars we had, to post late-rent, in order to watch him play in person, at least I did.
When Kobe retired in 2016, as Laker fans we felt mixed emotions. Was it really his time to hang up the laces? It’s clear, he left a gifted legacy to a team that would go on to acquire more superstars, younger players, the future generation of USA basketball, the boys that watched Kobe and inspired to play in his image. He walked away from the NBA with grace, dignity, and a commitment to the Los Angeles community.
As fans, we kept up with Kobe on social media and laughed when he would joyfully banter back and forth with other players. We smiled as he shared photos of his growing family, and gave us a peek into his life as a doting father. We became familiar with Kobe as a coach, a husband, and above all, a dad.
If you had told me a week ago that I’d be writing this, I would never have believed you. It’s been four days now, and I can’t process any of it. How can someone who is invincible, a hero, a champion not live forever? How does this story not have a Hollywood ending? As a parent, I can’t even begin to rationalize what he was going through in the last minutes, holding onto his beautiful daughter. I haven’t stopped thinking about his family, his wife Vanessa, his daughters, his parents. I pray for the other families aboard, siblings left as orphans, husbands left as widows. I pray that as fans, and as global citizens, we continue his work, his love for community, and for inspiring the next generation. We endure his passion when we help others, let’s never forget that. Let’s never forget how we all came together to mourn those lives, taken too soon. Please forgive the long-windedness of this post, what you don’t see, is the tears rolling down my face as I type. However, I take solace that heaven gained a fantastic pack of ballers, and an invincible hero - all of whom are profoundly missed here on Earth.