Bird Words 10: Kobe Bryant, and the importance of villains
Kobe Bryant was a villain in my sports-watching growing up, and that makes him a weirdly important figure for me.
This weekend ended with a tragedy. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. At the time of writing, there are conflicting reports as to how many people were killed in the accident. Bryant and his daughter Gianna are among the confirmed fatalities. Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli was killed in the crash as well.
It overshadows basically every story from the week and will be on our nation's collective consciousness for weeks going forward.
Kobe Bryant, and the importance of both heroes and villains in fandom
I grew up a fan of the Phoenix Suns. Despite living on the opposite side of the country, their fast play style led by Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire enthralled me. They were on national television all the time, so I was able to watch them fairly regularly as well.
Nash and the Suns never were able to do much in the postseason. The Western Conference Final was their ceiling, as the gauntlet of the West always proved to be just a little too much. One of their main foils was Bryant and his Lakers.
The blue bloods of the west. A consistent force who dominated the Pacific division. As great as the Suns were, they were always stuck in the shadows of the Lakers. They rarely would win the division, and even if they did and earn a top 3 seed, Los Angeles would usually manage to outlive them in the postseason.
This gave me, and many other Suns fans, an interesting relationship with Bryant. While we hated him because of the constant terror he caused our team, it was a hate out of respect. We did not want Bryant to go away, we wanted to beat him. Beating the team led by Kobe Bryant was a marker of some sort. It proved that we were good, that we were worthy. If we could beat the Lakers then we could beat anyone.
This “hate out of respect” relationship exists in all sports. Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers have caused hell for the Detroit Lions over the years. Anyone who knows me will know that I absolutely hate Rodgers and revel in the defeat of the team that he plays for. But when Rodgers left the 2018 Week 1 game against the Chicago Bears with what looked like a serious knee injury, I was terrified. An NFL season without Rodgers feels hollow. A lot of the thrill I could feel out of Lions victories disappears if our greatest adversary is not at his best. In a way, he has become just as important to my fan experience as many Lions players, and seeing him suffer a serious injury legitimately hurts.
Rodgers came back during the game, and while he was never fully healthy the rest of the season, he was around. A few weeks later the Lions defeated the Rodgers led Packers, and the victory felt much more fulfilling than our late season victory over them where Deshone Kizer mainly featured at quarterback.
Sports have played a huge role in my life (obviously I became a sports writer for a reason) and figures like Kobe are what brought me into the magic of the sports world. The stories, the heroes, the villains, the drama. Kobe was one of the ultimate figures. A kid from Philadelphia leading the NBA’s most historic franchise to the pinnacle once again. The guy who did not care what you thought about him or his shot selection. The ultimate competitor who had the confidence to try anything on a basketball court, and routinely pulled off the impossible. Despite playing in a city full of stars, Kobe managed to shine the brightest.
Super Bowl preview this Thursday