When people ask me what the highlight of my young broadcasting career is, I'm going to tell them about my brush with basketball greatness for the 2nd time. I'm going to tell them about July 2011, about the moment I shook the hand of one of the greatest players to ever play basketball.
I'm going to tell them the best moment of my young career was the day I talked to Kobe Bryant, one-on-one, for 5 minutes.
---
Truth be told, I used to hate young Kobe Bryant with a passion; brash and vocal about his desire to take on all comers and be the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers despite the presence of a prime Shaq, stubborn and defiant even to the venerable Phil Jackson. He rubbed me the wrong way. I'm used to seeing cats bring it, not sing it. You take the title of Best Ever on the court, not in the papers. You don't call out coaches and teammates and shout to the world how great you think you are, you just prove it. Perhaps I was spoiled by 2nd Three-peat Michael Jordan, who after coming from retirement, became a somewhat nicer teammate while remaining an uncompromising leader and winner for the Chicago Bulls. Perhaps I felt slighted that this kid from PhiladelphiaslashItaly, and 2nd generation baller, challenged Grant Hill, then the L's Mr. Nice Guy, for the title Heir Apparent. Perhaps, while I tried my darnest best to hide it, I felt threatened by this kid, who showed no fear going up against the G.O.A.T. when no one else dared to tug on Superman's cape.
I became a Chris Webber-Mike Bibby-Peja Stojakovic Sacramento Kings fan because they were good and they posed a threat to Kobe's Lakers in the West. I became a Tracy McGrady fanboy for a while because he had nice kicks and he was a threat to Kobe in the best gunslinger in the league duel. But Kobe Bryant is brash. He is stubborn and defiant. He simply refused to lose. Yes, it helps to have a 7-1, 300 pound behemoth and a Hall of Fame coach by your side, but Bean wasn't no slouch during their time tearin' up the league. They vanquished the mighty Kings and Kobe outplayed and outlasted T-Mac and any other young high flying scorer who dared challenge him.
More than the challenges on the court, Kobe was challenged in the game of real life as well. The Colorado Scandal. His media feud with PhilJax and Shaq. Haters 'round the world. More than the dismal showing of the post-Shaq Lakers, I feel that Bean felt the most damage from the off-court stuff. That's real life, dawg, there ain't no time-outs, no halftime breaks, no overtimes. When that final buzzer sounds in real life, that's it.
During this difficult time, Kobe went back to the one thing he loved the most. He went back to basketball. The take-no-prisoners, leave-bodies-in-his-wake type of basketball. He likes to call it "Balls to the Wall". He trained. He lifted weights. He shot the lights out at the gym by himself, hoisting jumper after jumper. He got his life and game back on track. The results include an 81-point game, a string of 50 and 60 point games, a regular season MVP, back-to-back NBA Championships and Finals MVP awards, and an Olympic Gold Medal.
And most of all, respect and recognition. Y'all can love him or hate him, but regardless of what you feel about him, you gotta respect the best in the game.
---
I was first on deck for the interview session since I arrived hours before everyone else. I shared the room with some of the industry's best: Slam Magazine's Mico Halili, ABSCBN's TJ Manotoc, Solar's Jinno Rufino, TV5's Chiqui Roa-Puno. Yeah, I made sure I was there early. I was pretty excited.
When I finally shook Kobe Bryant's hand, I had to stop myself from grinning like a frickin idiot. I was telling myself "Be cool. BE COOL. It's no big deal. Yeah so he's the best player in the world today. But be cool." I had the most ruthless competitor in the game today for 5 minutes. So I decide to pick his brain about what drives him.
Kobe lights up as he hears me recount his epic battle with the Boston Celtics. He smiles as he sees me imitate the scowl he showed in the finals against the Orlando Magic. I ask him about what drives him at this point in his career, what he has left to prove:
"It's always the challenge of winning. I don't necessarily feel like I have to prove something to somebody, in order to perform at a high level, this is just who I am, when I get out there on the floor, I'm ready to go, ready to win."
He's been in the country four times (once with Adidas as a youngster, thrice with Nike) and he relishes each and every visit, because he admits he has never seen a country so smitten with the game of basketball like the good 'ol PHL.
Kobe Bean Bryant, for lack of a better term, is a basketball nut. It's like he was bred to have a basketball in his hands. As a kid, he told me when he's not out playing (against older, bigger, faster kids to toughen himself up), he'd watch taped NBA games sent to him by relatives, usually Michael Jordan and the Bulls or Magic Johnson and the Lakers. So he feels right at home in this country of fellow basketball nuts who are only too willing to welcome the best player in the world today. He says he will definitely try the beaches in the future, and maybe even sample the local cuisine like sizzling sisig. Thanks to yours truly, Kobe has learned how to say "Salamat" to his Pinoy fans.
"I enjoy sharing the game of basketball, and Manila of all the places I've traveled, has so much passion and enthusiasm for the game. That's why I love coming back because I enjoy being around kids, I enjoy being around people who have the same passion as I do."
On this side of the planet, it's not everyday I get to meet of the greatest athletes in the world not from our country. It's not everyday I get to meet a basketball player whose name, image, and likeness is on most of my shirts and shoes with the swoosh. So when people ask me about that one day in my career that I'll never forget, I'm going to tell them proudly that for 5 minutes, I got Kobe Bryant one-on-one.
Until I get Michael Jordan one-on-one for an interview, this moment with Kobe Bryant will be on top of my list.
Until I get Michael Jordan one-on-one for an interview, this moment with Kobe Bryant will be on top of my list.
0 comments:
Post a Comment