LA Metro offers its deepest condolences to family and friends of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and those who perished today. So many rode Metro to go see Kobe perform his magic and win titles. We will find ways to honor Kobe and his irreplaceable legacy. Photo: @Lakers pic.twitter.com/rrxT5EoxLN
— LA Metro (@metrolosangeles) January 26, 2020
I know this is a difficult day for many. I thought it best to round up some videos, articles and podcast on Kobe Bryant for those looking for something to read while riding.
•If you have never seen Kobe’s Oscar-winning short “Dear Basketball,” watch it here — and don’t turn down the sound as you’ll miss the narration and music.
The European childhood inspired in Bryant a sense that there is “a much bigger world out there,” as he put it to me, and, as an adult, he travels widely in the summers, both as an extension of his brand (doing promotional work for Lenovo in Manila, say) and in order to expose Natalia and Gianna to different cultures. “We’ll just kind of set up camp in one particular city,” he said. “Take ’em to the Louvre, expose ’em to art.” Last year, he visited Brazil, Dubai, and China—where his jerseys have outsold those of Yao Ming, the country’s first N.B.A. star. (A statue of Bryant stands in the city of Guanghzhou.)
“I love watching, reading, listening to people who have done great things,” Bryant said. Asked to name some examples, he warned me that the list was “a mile long,” and then proceeded down the road: “Walt Disney, to Oprah Winfrey, to Jay-Z, to a serial entrepreneur like Mike Repole, to Michael Rubin, to Evan Williams. It just goes and goes and goes and goes.” Repole—I had to look this up—created Vitaminwater, and Rubin is the C.E.O. of an e-commerce company called Kynetic. Williams co-founded Twitter. “President Clinton, you know, we spent some time together the other day, and had a chance to kind of talk in the back about business and how he goes through the process of delegation and structure,” Bryant continued. “And that’s without even getting into the Michael Jacksons of the world, the Michelangelos of the world, the Da Vincis of the world, the Warhols of the world. We’re surrounded by people who do incredible things, and the information is right there for us to learn from them.”
•This shorter but frank appreciation is posted at the Sports Illustrated site. Excerpt:
There are more memories, of course. But in the end, many of them are the same stories, just in different context. Kobe Bryant was a complex, flawed human being. He was also one of the purest competitors to ever pick up a basketball, or any ball. I met plenty of people who loved Kobe Bryant, and plenty who didn’t. But I don’t think I ever met someone who didn’t respect him as an athlete and competitor. And my guess is that’s what mattered most to Bryant. The game will miss him dearly.
•Words of appreciation from 24 grieving fans in the LAT. Excerpt:
Hugo Flores, 29
Flores recalls his friends talking about how Bryant reminds them of their immigrant parents.
“They had multiple jobs and worked like crazy, but they never made excuses,” the Anaheim resident said. “That was Kobe. He’d play with broken fingers and torn ligaments and would never say a thing. He set that example, and so we had to do the same.
“We see that mentality in our culture — eres el más chingón [you’re the biggest badass],” Flores added. “That was Kobe every night, every day.”
•Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan talk about Kobe on the Bill Simmons Podcast — both are longtime NBA observers and fans:
Categories: Transportation Headlines
Let’s wait a while before we rush to rename anything.
When I was riding on Metro, I read about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulting a young woman and causing her permanent mental trauma. I don’t glamorize Kobe Bryant, I think of the young woman whose life he ruined.
I do salute the firefighters and sheriffs deputies who risked their lives to try to rescue the helicopter crash victims, and to extinguish the brush fire which was caused by the crash.
Isn’t it already named after Chick Hearn? Maybe it’s just the street. Anyone?
That was only for the 1st decade of the 21st century
Officially it’s Pico/Chick Hearn, however other than Rosa Parks, who rightly should be identified on the platform and on maps, Metro has stripped personal names from the “operational names” displayed to the public. Does anyone call Metro Center the “Julian Dixon” station: https://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/mta-rail-station-be-renamed-honor-rep-julian-dixon/
One could argue that Rosa Parks deserves something better than the Willowbrook station
Rename Pico Station to Pico/Kobe Bryant Station