I for one took the news pretty hard, as did my Son.
Magic Johnson was the player I started watching when I first got into basketball but not even 2 years into my love for basketball, he was diagnosed with HIV and out of the league soon after. I was in the
3rd grade.
I watched
Michael Jordan but Bulls games don't air very often in So Cal.
Then when I was in the 8th grade, The
Lakers finally got the franchise Savior. A Kid named
Kobe Bryant. A Kid who was only 5 years older than me, already in the league. He was my hero.
At the mid-way point of his career, I had my Son. By the time my Son was really into basketball,
Kobe was in his 15th year. My Son enjoyed watching him in his final 5 years. My son has been on a lot of basketball teams the last 9 years. Always wore #24. He decided to start playing Football and wanted to be a Receiver but when he found out he couldn't wear #24, he switched to Cornerback just so he was eligible to wear #24, and he got it.
What also hit me hard, is I was starting to watch his Daughter play Basketball and excel at the fastest rate i've ever seen in a kid. Although my oldest Daughter, who is only a year younger than his Daughter that was on the Helicopter with him, doesn't play Basketball, I watch her aspire to be a Gymnast and the thought of her not being able to do what she loves is devastating.
Just wanted to share my thoughts on it. I understand not everyone has a connection to
Kobe. The same way I don't have a connection to some musicians and/or actors that have passed, that a lot of others do.