I cannot believe that Kobe Bryant is dead. I logged onto Twitter to tweet my last post and saw “Kobe Died” in the “Trends for You” section on the right hand side. I prayed that it was a joke. Aren’t most things on the internet these days? I went to Google and typed in Kobe. Wikipedia popped up with Kobe’s death date of January 26, 2020 already listed. I still held out hope.
I scrolled further and saw articles from TMZ and Entertainment Weekly – still I held out hope. These are not reputable sources, I thought. This could all be a stunt.
And then I saw SB Nation. I saw the Washington Examiner. I saw the LA Times. I saw Dwayne Wade’s tweet. And my heart dropped.
I’ve never liked the NBA, never liked the Lakers, and never really cared much for Kobe. BUT I knew he was great. He was simply one of the all-time best in his sport. He played the game for twenty years. He ignored the haters and the media and kept doing what he did best. And I respect so much the people among us that lock into what they are great at and pursue it with total dedication. Kobe was greatness personified.
And to die at age 41 in the Californian hills is nothing short of tragic. I write in disbelief. Snot is dripping down my nose. My stomach is churning for his wife and his four children. Kobe lived an amazing life. I know that no days are guaranteed for any of us, but this tragedy puts a fine point on it today. We must pursue our truth. We must pursue our greatness. We must live life to the fullest each day. Death is our only certainty. And for that we must live today in complete accordance with our values and in constant pursuit of our dreams.