Mamba out

I woke up at nine o'clock in the morning, turned on my phone, and saw a message from a friend: Kobe Bryant is dead. The word "death" is direct and piercing, piercing into people's brains like a knife, lingering. Death happens every day, and a lot of times it's just a string of numbers, cold, like the recent pandemic, death is far away from us, but very close.

And this time it was Kobe Bryant who died.

I'm not a Kobe fan, and never has been. In my craziest years as a fan, I hated him, his style, his style of play, his character. I never even hacked Kobe Bryant because I hated the way a person handles it, which is cold, uncaring, and not paying attention.

In '10, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers beat the Celtics to win the championship, and I was very unhappy, and I didn't follow any news from the NBA that summer. I'm not a Celtics fan, I just don't like Kobe Bryant, and I'm sure a lot of people have the same mentality as me. I was 20 years old, and I loved and hated basketball.

In 2020, 10 years have passed, and this winter is not too cold, but it is unforgettable. Because of the Morey incident, I haven't followed the NBA for a long time, and the basketball world across the ocean is gradually moving away from me. Because of the epidemic, people are hiding in their own nests, closely watching the development of the situation. At this time, Kobe Bryant reappeared, he always appeared so unreasonable, just like his shots, but he always amazed you.

But this time, I'd rather not be amazed.

Can't remember when the opinion of Kobe Bryant changed, maybe when he became less powerful? When he has to reconcile with the world, the world will understand him. Or maybe after I entered society, I had a completely different view of life, and even Kobe Bryant had a different view. Basketball is no longer a simple win or loser, but like life, it has become a cup of bitter wine with mixed tastes.

Mr. Su Qun once said in the preface of a book that one of the reasons why young people love basketball and the NBA is that they can see the ups and downs of a player's career in just over ten years, and witness his growth, glory, decline, and end. This is the most real and moving reality show in the world, and Kobe Bryant must be the brightest star in this show.

His brilliance lies not only in his skills, but also in his character. People use a lot of negative or positive words to describe him, rebellious, paranoid, persistent, crazy, tenacious, etc., among which negative words account for more. This is also the reason why so many people don't like Kobe, he is too sharp, like a knife, and stabs a lot of people.

In our Chinese social and cultural concept, the most important characteristic that a mature person needs to have is "sleek". It is often said that society will grind away the edges and corners of young people, and I don't know how many people have become sleek in the crawling. Sleek is the general evaluation standard of our society, only sleek can adapt to the world, sleek can cater to others, sleek can say roll. But is this process of grinding off edges and corners really necessary? Can a person survive only if he is tactful?

Growing up, no one ever told me how you would live if you weren't tactful, and if you weren't tactful, you wouldn't survive. No one told me how to develop your personality, how to develop your personality, how to achieve your goals. My parents told me to be humble, my teachers told me to be united, and my leaders told me to take care of the overall situation.

Then, Kobe Bryant told me, do what you want to do and do your best. And with his actual actions, it is also possible.

Actually, he told me a long time ago, but I didn't understand it. Now I understand that all the words that describe Kobe Bryant are only superficial, and the often referred to as the Mamba spirit has only one true meaning in my opinion: the pursuit of a true and independent self. This is the most valuable spiritual wealth that Kobe Bryant left to all those who love basketball.

Bryant is still dead. Death is fair, and at the moment of the passing of life, everything for the individual is nothing. No matter how much honor, wealth, and status there is in front of him, and how many praises, memories, and tears are behind him, they all turn into ashes and dust, fall into the earth, and dissipate in the years that can only be looked back.

Kobe Bryant is still alive, and the real death of a person is not the death of the body, but the oblivion of everyone. Kobe Bryant will not be forgotten, and whether you love him, hate him, or simply admire him, he will be remembered. In this special date, if Kobe Bryant has left us any hints, I think there are two points: first, cherish the moment, cherish the people around you, you don't know which one will come first, the accident or tomorrow. 2. Always pursue truthfulness and independence, do not blindly follow, do not compromise, do not give in, and be your true self.

Mamba out。

Mamba still there。

Goodbye, Kobe.