My (brief) encounter with one of my heroes, Kobe Bryant

“K.O.B.E I L.O.V.E you” those are the lyrics to the beginning of the late NBA player Kobe Bryant’s song. K.O.B.E.  The 41-year-old future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee died in a helicopter crash on Sunday afternoon along with his 13-year-old-daughter Gianna.

Those lyrics, those are the words I used to sing over and over again while practicing my free-throw shot during basketball practice in Saskatchewan. You may be with the majority of people who didn’t know he even had released music. Bryant was even featured on a Brian McKnight song. I know this because I grew up idolizing Kobe, for years he was my hero. While many wanted to be like Mike, I wanted to be like Kobe.

I loved the Lakers from a young age but it was when Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets back in 1998 and immediately traded to my team that it took my love of Lakers to a love of basketball. The style of basketball he brought to the court was like something I had never seen before. I was too young to watch Magic Johnson play in his prime for the Lakers. With Kobe, I was watching in real-time.

The same year he started with the Lakers was the same year I joined my first basketball team. What number did I pick? The number eight. Every sports team I have played since then I have picked the number eight because of Kobe. From my phone number, my email address, the day I got married, my dog’s middle name, even my Christmas tree all revolved around the number eight. To me, that number was Kobe Bryant, and to me, he was on a level of greatness I didn’t know existed.

If you think about it, I was a young girl in the middle of Canada trying to emulate Kobe Bryant’s basketball handles. This was before social media, YouTube and most of us had dial-up internet. I would tape every Lakers game and then watch it back over and over again to watch his every move on the court. He inspired people of all ages and backgrounds.

I remember where I was when Kobe announced he was going to retire in 2015. I was in Mexico with my family and when I turned my phone on, I had dozens of texts asking if I had heard the news.

At this point, I had lived in Toronto for just over a year. I couldn’t believe it, when I would get back from vacation I would be covering his final game in Toronto.

This is the moment I first saw him, he was like a mythical creature that exuded confidence. You can see the fear in my face. The man who inspired me to try and be better was 5 feet away from me.

I made sure I was the first reporter in the make-shift press conference room there was no way I was going to miss this. I was front and centre.

I don’t remember what I asked him, but what I do remember is that he answered as if you were the only person in the room. This is something I heard for years from other reporters. When he was with you, he made time for you and that he was kind and funny.

Then a dream assignment a few months later. I got the call. I’m going to Los Angeles to cover Kobe Bryant’s last game. Thousands of fans in the stands with his jersey with his number on it, whether it be 8 or 24. All of our lives had been impacted in some way by the “Black Mamba.” Both numbers etched on the court for special recognition of his last game.

April 13, 2016, marked Kobe’s final game and it against the Utah Jazz at the Staples Centre. He would go on to score 60 points in the game. I was able to get a quick moment with Kobe, the same kindness and thought in his answers as the time I saw him only a few months ago. While you may not think this is a big deal, many athletes won’t even look at reporters when he answered their questions.

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In my home, I have framed the final score sheet from his game as well as the confetti with his numbers on it that fell from the Staples Center after the final buzzer.

Yes, I know some of you reading this think it’s ridiculous how sentimental I am over someone I didn’t actually know. You’re right, I never knew him but he changed the course of my life. In a way it’s because of him I am living my dream covering the NBA. I quickly learned I didn’t have the same level of skill, so the next best thing I could do was to report on people like him who impact millions of people around the world.

He inspired me to believe in the unbelievable.

Thank you, Kobe.