The Bad Ash Blog

I have a box of tissues by my side. A glass of water. A pen. Some paper. And, out of the ordinary, ESPN is not playing on the TV in the background. Kobe. I thought so highly of him. Oh, what Kobe meant to me. What Kobe meant to all of us. Legend. Hero. Goat (one of my most treasured sports debates). Icon. Brother. Son. Husband. Father. I wear my #24 Hollywood jersey differently now. I wear my purple Kobe X’s differently now. Every single Kobe highlight I watch, I watch differently now. That time that I went and watched him play in Chicago, I remember it differently now … but how I view Kobe will forever remain the same. My boyfriend and I began to talk about our favorite Kobe memories yesterday and you couldn’t help but to just … feel your blood began to pump faster, clinch your fists, grit your teeth … you know, full-on Mamba Face. It signifies so much. Invincible is the word he kept bringing up in our conversation. Man, we sure do love Bean. Go hard. ...

#MambaMentality Kobe "Bean" Bryant, Vino, Black Mamba, the GOAT... Whatever you may call the man, fan or not, the respect for him should be at an all-time high. For everyone.  Legendary. I have heard different reactions to the realization that the era of Kobe has ended and unfortunately I have heard people say things like, "Oh finally," "It was about time," "He should have retired a couple years ago," or, "Kobe sucked his last couple years." I have decided that I am not taking any sort of disrespect or discrediting the Mamba in anyway from anyone. You will strike me as someone extremely foolish.  As we were all expecting Kobe to announce his retirement when he did, I had been planning my tribute to him for over a year. There's a lot of information on this guy... Who knew? People are not wrong when saying that Kobe struggled his last few seasons, but I do not believe that was an excuse for criticism. His last season w...