Monday, November 30, 2015

It’s not easy to say goodbye: I’ll always love your game Kobe

Photo published for Dear Basketball | By Kobe Bryant

The time has finally arrived for Kobe Bean Bryant to retire.

I remember watching him as a brash kid taking questionable shots late in games. How he became the most dominant player in the NBA.

This season has been painful to watch. The Black Mamba’s moves have faded with his outside shot.

But he’s a confirmed Hall-Of-Famer, and his game will live on in basketball lore.There will never be another player like him.

Here’s Kobe full poem about retiring:

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

I’ll always love your game Kobe. Don’t go quietly into the night.

1 comment:

Glenn Franco Simmons said...

Great post, Dave. Love Kobe's poem.

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...