Jeremy Rucker – Staff Writer
My first taste of Laker fandom came in 2000, when I watched Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal win the first of their three consecutive NBA Finals. By 2002, I was hooked. Why wouldn’t I be? All they did was win. But it wasn’t the winning that captivated me; it was Kobe.
When Shaq departed for the Miami Heat in 2004, the winning ways had worn off but my obsession with Bryant only continued. To me, he was sports. From then on, I couldn’t miss a game. Despite his arrest in 2003 and his immense decline in popularity, my enthusiasm never waned. He takes too many shots? He doesn’t trust his teammates? He’ll never win without Shaq? The sports world loved to hate him, but that only fueled the fire for fans like me.
Few predicted just how dominant Kobe would be for the 10-plus seasons following Shaq’s departure, but his rapid ascension to legendary status seemed almost inevitable to those who had been watching carefully. He gave Laker fans everything, season after season, and it was easy to take it for granted, even when they weren’t winning.
By 2010, the winning ways had returned and his physical immortality seemed all but assured for Laker fans across the world. Even after 12 years in the league, talks of his demise were prevalent, but were rarely validated.
Surely he’ll begin to decline when he turns 30. No? What about 31? 32? 33? Ever?
When his body finally succumbed to his mind’s relentless drive on April 12, 2013, my immediate sadness was quickly overtaken by a sense of, for lack of a better word: relief. I was relieved, not because of some sadistic satisfaction, but because I needed at least a modicum of finality, a sign that would prepare me for the beginning of the end.
For 17 years, the notion of his physical mortality was an ominous hypothetical. Everyone had a nightmare scenario for Kobe’s career ending injury, ranging from the laughably mild to the horribly gruesome. But what we all had in common was a coping mechanism to help us rationalize the fact Kobe’s reign in the Purple and Gold, like all things, would eventually come to an end.
Now both he and his fans across the globe can fully appreciate the scope of his achievements and his impact. Kobe’s career will always be the yardstick with which I measure the early phases of my life. His crash course in maturity during the mid-2000s was a near perfect mirror of my adolescence. As I see it, we grew up together.
So as Kobe dons a Laker uniform for the final time Wednesday night, my identity and the identity of so many others who grew up in Los Angeles over the last 20 years will reach a new crossroads. On paper, Kobe will go down as one of the greatest players in NBA history. But to us, he represents an era that will have no parallel.
In a letter to Lakers fans following his retirement announce, Bryant heaped praise on the fan base that supported him for two full decades, saying, “My love for this city, this team, and for each of you will never fade. Thank you for this incredible journey,”
Kobe, the feeling is mutual.
Next: Nate Edelman, Staff Writer