The Final Score: Our Love/Hate/Love Affair with Kobe Bryant

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"Tokyo - Solar TV basketball analyst Jason Webb and I thought the player introductions at the NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium was the perfect laboratory. We wanted to test Kobe Bryant’s likability with a “neutral" crowd. Measuring Kobe’s likability in either Staples Center, where he is worshiped, or in any road game, where he is vilified, just wouldn’t work. For our social experiment, the crowd at Cowboys Stadium, albeit a pro-Mavericks gathering, is as neutral as anyone can get.

 

 

And so the booming voice introduced the Lakers’ alpha and omega, “From the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant."

 

One big part of the mammoth crowd cheered. Another big part jeered. From our courtside seats, where the crowd roar sounds like a thundering 747 jet engine, the applause and boos reverberated for no other All-Star but Kobe. In this most neutral of NBA games, over 108,000 fans showed just how much they love and hate the most polarizing superstar the league has ever known.

 

Bill Laimbeer was the white bad guy in Steven Seagal movies. Spud Webb was a hero because everyone loved Spud. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were never booed in All-Star games. Magic and Bird were hero and villain only to each other’s fans but to the rest of the league, they were lead stars in a decade-long rivalry. Fans who cheered for Michael Jordan loved him. Those who booed Jordan secretly loved him too. Fans’ estimation of Kobe isn’t that clear-cut. I’m sure cheers for Kobe in Dallas were genuine. I’m not so sure if jeers for Kobe were cheers in disguise.

 

Jordan was an assassin and showman. Jordan broke hearts in New York and Cleveland as a hobby and fans there thanked him for the privilege of watching him rip their chests wide open. Kobe is an assassin period. He nails one game-winner after another and Laker fans treat him like Jordan incarnate while opposing fans despise him like he’s Jack the Ripper.

 

Kobe Bryant speaks during the Manila stop of his Nike Asian Tour last year. Joe Galvez

 

Even the way Nike depicted Jordan is different from the way Nike portrays Bryant. Nike made us believe Jordan could fly. Nike paints Bryant as the consummate sharpshooter; a craftsman most particular with training and technique. As a result, Air Jordan made opponents and opposing fans say, “Wow!" Black Mamba makes opponents and opposing fans say, “Damn!"

 

Until LeBron James starts winning championships at the expense of other teams, he will not polarize the NBA the way Bryant does. Maybe Kobe Bryant is the Wilt Chamberlain of our age. He’s just too good to be adored by everyone. Even on the cover of GQ’s March issue, Bryant doesn’t come across as George Clooney - a Hollywood star born to charm. Bryant looks sleek and icy. He looks ready to win a playoff game even if it means playing in an expensive Armani suit. I guess that’s why he doesn’t win everyone over. He collects championships with extreme prejudice. He succeeds with samurai-like dedication. There is just no room for Clooney-like charm in Kobe Bryant’s winning equation."

 

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/184639/the-final-score-our-lovehatelove-affair-with-kobe-bryant