My reasons for being a Kobe Bryant fan

I feel like it might be a good idea to take a look back at how and why I became a fan of Kobe Bryant.  I really began paying attention to the NBA in the 90s. Living in Minnesota, we didn't have a team until 1989 and it was many years before Kevin Garnett showed up and made them relevant.  I admit that I did what the rest of the country did, and hopped on the Bulls bandwagon.  I was born in 1984 so I'm saying I was a child when I started liking MJ and the Bulls, I didn't even know what the term bandwagon meant.  Watching Jordan play was a blast and I was at the time as much of a Jordan fan as I am a Kobe fan today.  But I knew that Jordan's career was coming to a close and I wanted to find the next Jordan as many others did.  I knew of Kobe, but I started really paying attention when he won the dunk contest in his rookie year. He had many similarities to MJ and overall he was just an exciting young player.  I can in fact remember telling a friend that I was looking forward to Jordan's retirement so that I could see Kobe and Shaq win some rings.  I've always view Kobe a little bit differently than I view a lot of NBA stars.  He's well spoken,  he speaks Italian, and actually did well enough on his SAT to actually get into college (unlike KG).  So many NBA frustrate the hell out of me because they can barely even speak ENGLISH as their first language.  I've always just thought he was more intelligent and well rounded person than most of the stars in the league.  Now, on to the more present day.  It's no secret that Kobe's drive is second to none.  He is on a mission to be the greatest nba player of all time.  Whether he's already there, or he's on his way, or if he has no shot whatsoever, none of those statements will effect the effort that he will continue to put in on his quest.  He famously only takes a couple weeks off after the season before he starts his training again which usually has him up working before 5 o'clock in the morning.  In contrast you have guys like Shaq that make shitty movies, video games, rap albums, and visit Disney World during there down time.  Love him or Hate him, Kobe works hard!  I don't see how people can hate the fact that someone wants to be the best at what they do?  Kobe has 5 rings, been to the finals 7 times, but I have no doubt in my mind that he wants to win more championships more than any other player in the league.  There's been times when Kobe's tried to take the game into his hands and failed, I'll admit that, but you're never gonna see him shy away from the moment like Lebron did against Dallas.  Kobe won't go down without a fight period!  That pretty much sums it up for now, I'm sure I'll probably come back to this later and add more.

What's Beef?

 I decided to start off writing about something that has been making me ANGRY for a few years now.  People constantly attack Kobe for running Shaq out of Los Angeles, because he wanted to be the man.  First of all, I think it’s bullshit, second of all even if it was true, I could perfectly understand why he might want to. When Shaq came into the league, he was instantly one of my favorite players.  He was breaking backboards left and right and his personality was just as big as his game.  He was fun to watch and clearly he was enjoying life.  He owned Orlando, and then he owned LA.  The thing with Shaq is, he’s a complete freak of nature.  Over 300 pounds, and extremely athletic, like nothing the NBA had ever seen before.  The problem is, the fame was more important to him than the game itself.  With his amazing God-given abilities, he was gonna win championships without having to put his whole heart into it and he did.  He was content to be a great player, but I really think that if he had the work ethic of Kobe, he would have shattered records, and stacked the championship trophies to the ceiling.  Shaq liked to spend his off seasons hanging out at Disney world, and filming shitty movies about genies.  He loves having fun, and he loves the attention that comes with the fame.  I completely understand the way he is, but when you compare him to Kobe it’s obvious why they had issues. 

for the record, this is not me!

INTRODUCTION

I decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons. Number 1, I love basketball, I can watch any NBA game and find something that makes it worth watching. Whether I’m watching my Lakers(which needs no justification), or I’m watching the Wolves to see K Love get another double double, I’m gonna watch it and enjoy. So, my plan is to write about all kinds of basketball/nba related stuff. Number 2, I’m a huge Lakers/Kobe Bryant fan. I feel I might as well let it be known right away that I’m probably gonna be a little biased, I’d rather get that out of the way right now! I plan to do a lot of comparing Kobe to all the other great players, and shedding light on how I feel about many of the Kobe/Lakers developments both new and old. I know I’m not always right, and I’m more than happy to make some people mad! That’s all for now, check back, there should be some content soon!