More of my friends were NBA fans than baseball fans. My co-worker has 10 and 12-year-old boys, and it's the same for them. The NBA fan base has always skewed significantly younger than baseball (and all major sports, really), and that trend is certainly continuing today.
Anyhow, whether you like the NBA or not is not the purpose of the post. Instead, I just wanted to give a quick tribute to Kobe Bryant, playing in his last All-Star Game tonight. Kobe is one of the best players to have ever played the game, and while I can't say I was always his biggest fan, I certainly respected him as an incredible player. I saw in person twice - once at MSG, and once at the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston. Both times, he owned the stage. Have you ever been to a baseball game and refused to go get a beer when a certain player was due to come up to bat? Bonds or ARod or Pujols in their primes? Mike Trout or Bryce Harper now. That kind of thing. Kobe was like that. When he was on the floor, you don't step away or go to the bathroom. You watch and hope to catch a glimpse of greatness.
I don't have a ton of Kobe cards. He was getting big as as I was transitioning to really focusing on baseball cards. I am lucky enough to have his rookie card, pictured above, from Collector's Choice. While it's low-end, it's still a RC. Man, I loved Collector's Choice.
The NBA won't be the same without Kobe. Sure, there's still LeBron and Durant and Harden and Curry. But Kobe was a breed of his own, and he'll certainly be missed.
Well said. I also transitioned from basketball to baseball right as Kobe started hitting his peak. It's still kind of strange to think of the NBA without Kobe.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch basketball anymore... and don't really collect their cards either. But if I were to go back and collect... Kobe would be the guy I PC. I love the way he approached the game. Sure he would call out his teammates and hold on to the ball more often than he should. But he was passionate and always gave his best. He will be missed.
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