The hero I didn’t know I had

So, like many of you out there this Kobe Bryant news hit me in a strange and definitely unexpected way. I’ve been having some trouble getting my mind around the fact that what happened seemed so impossible, so unbelievable that not only was my initial response to the news just shock but the thoughts I continue to have as I reflect still continue to be shocking. Who was this person that I thought would be gone, couldn’t be gone he was, when it comes down to it just as human as the rest of us so why does something feel so off within my brain when I think on this mournful event? Then I watched an interview with Jerry West and as he spoke of Kobe, his accomplishments, he’s relationships he came upon the obvious and infamous collaboration of Kobe and Shaq, Shaq and Kobe two names that will be forever linked in basketball maybe more than any others. When Jerry spoke of them he hit on something that for me help me understand why I personally was feeling the why I have been about the situation. He compared Shaq and Kobe to Superman and Spider-Man respectively. Now the nickname of Superman for Shaq is nothing new it’s been known for decades and the dominant force of nature Shaq was on the court was plenty of proof Kobe himself often referred to him as THE most dominant player in the game. Shaq has even leaned in on this and embraced the moniker for as long as I can remember. But I’d not heard anyone comparing Kobe to Spider-Man but as I’ve thought about it so much has become clear. Let me first explain somethings about myself I was born and raised in Chicago 80s baby 90s raised me so of course I saw Michael Jordan as a larger than life individual, untouchable when it came to the game. Also as a kid(and as an adult)Spider-Man was/is 100% my favorite of any fictional character in any medium hands down. Within spider man stories I would always see myself it’s the nature of the character I know and there’s more to say on the subject but I won’t do that here. Last thing you might need to know about me to understand my thought process is I’m a girl dad my daughter is the most important person in my life. So with those words Jerry West said in that interview basically connected the final dot in my mind to what I felt. Kobe Bryant was the closest thing to a real Spider-Man that the world will ever have, modern athletes are not heroes in the traditional sense they don’t save lives, run into burning buildings or jump in front of bullets. But they are heroes, they are super human we watch them fly from the floor of the court and marvel at the things they do on a daily basis. In 1996 a 17 year old Kobe was drafted into the nba to play amongst those heroes in LA one of the biggest stages in the game. He was spider man being called upon to join the avengers and not only did he meet the challenge he rose above any expectations anyone could have had he played with and against these larger than life figures and took his place along side of them without hesitation and with authority. In a weird way he was the real life spider man for people of a my generation whether we realized it or not, and he proved that some of us are super human in some ways and he’d also become a father and role model for his daughters that person. He had his short comings in one way or another like any of us none are without dirt. But that subliminal superhero of Kobe Bryant his death hit in a way that I didn’t expect and it was harder  because I hadn’t had a reminder of the harshness of life in a while, but I do now understand why I feel as I do and what I plan to do with this feeling now that Ive thoroughly deconstructed it I will incorporated it into my personality going forward and keep on moving but definitely not in the same way I was moving before that day and definitely not in the same direction. Rest easy Kobe Bryant, Black mamba, spider man.