The End of an Era

     As empires rise and fall, so do great athletes. 2016 marks the end to the career of one greatest basketball players to ever do it, Kobe "Black Mamba" Bean Bryant. Kobe was drafted in 1996 and dominated the NBA every season since then. 

     Bryant's retirement not only marks the end of a remarkable career, but the end of one of the greatest eras in NBA history. The age of the shooting guard has seen players George Girvin(1974 -1990) to Michael Jordan( 1984 - 2003).  Bryant is considered by many as the punctuation point to this era. Bryant's impact of the game is one of the strongest of any player in history.  During his career he won five championships along great players such as the legendary Shaquille O'Neal (1992-2001) and the unstopable future hall of famer Derek Fisher (1996 - 2014).

     A good career in the NBA is usually defined by how many years a player has played. A solid career is considered 6-11 years, however Kobe, being the competitive force that he is, has played a wopping 20 years in the NBA. Bryant's love for the game and desire to win have pushed him to be the great player that he is today. 

    While Bryant had a sensational musical carerer, his first and most prominant love was that for the game of basketball. Facing a multitude of injuries Bryant finally came to terms with his retirement, in doing this  Bryant wrote a poem / farewell letter to the sport he loved: 

"Dear Basketball, 
From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks 
And shooting imaginary Game-winning shots 
In the Great Western Forum 
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you. 
A love so deep I gave you my all — 
From my mind & body 
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy 
Deeply in love with you 
I never saw the end of the tunnel. 
I only saw myself 
Running out of one.

And so I ran. 
I ran up and down every court 
After every loose ball for you. 
You asked for my hustle 
I gave you my heart 
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt 
Not because challenge called me 
But because YOU called me. 
I did everything for YOU 
Because that’s what you do 
When someone makes you feel as 
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream 
And I’ll always love you for it. 
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. 
This season is all I have left to give. 
My heart can take the pounding 
My mind can handle the grind 
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK. 
I’m ready to let you go. 
I want you to know now 
So we both can savor every moment we have left together. 
The good and the bad. 
We have given each other 
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next 
I’ll always be that kid 
With the rolled up socks 
Garbage can in the corner 
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands. 
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always, Kobe"

    It is no question that the game of basketball will never be the same without Kobe. The real question lies in whether or not Kobe be the same without basketball. 

    Farewell to the G.O.A.T.