It took me a while to think of what I wanted to post…to me, these ‘social media platforms’ have always been like this self-aggrandizing thing and I’m always shocked to think that every once in a while, someone actually gives a damn about what I have to say. So when I say something…anything…I like for it to be well thought out. ⁣
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When I heard Kobe died I was in shock like everyone else. I was on a hike in the woods with no reception and as soon as I got back I saw I had 18 texts all saying the same thing. I’ll save all the basketball talk for a future post, but having recently become a family man myself (I’ve been married for 7 years, have a 5 year old and a 1 year old), the fact that a family man has died is the core of what has had my stomach in knots since I read that first text. ⁣
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Yeah, I know regular family men die day in and day out all over the world, but there’s very few I know and have actually watched grow up alongside me. ⁣
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I remember when Kobe’s name first started circling around the basketball world; I was 16 years old, worried about my own jumper and girls and everything else 16 year olds worried about. And before I knew it, Kobe was making national headlines because he convinced @4everbrandy to go to prom with him. At 16 years old – this guy was like an upperclassman to me. Kobe was pretty much my age. Someone I’d grow up watching.⁣
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Through the years, I grew up like any regular person and got to watch Kobe grow up in the public life. I watched him deal with the highs and lows of his career, the highs and lows of his peers and his critics, and the highs and lows of his relationship. And then he started to become a family man.⁣
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And I think what happens…when you have kids…there’s a shift that occurs. In men, it’s subtle, but it happens. With some men it happens immediately and others it takes a while – but it happens when everything that you thought mattered just takes a back seat to you being the best father you can be. ⁣
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Watching Kobe, and seeing those videos of him at the games with his daughter…just talking…it just makes me choke up. Like…f*ck, man. Life is precious. My heart goes out to his family. #ripkobe#ripgigi