Man, I can't think of many celebrity deaths that have hit me this hard. If anything, I grew up a Lakers hater, so I wasn't much of a Kobe fan as a kid, but as I got older, I came to respect him in a big way. Sort of like how I resented Messi for so long before realizing how lucky I am to be a football fan during his career and getting the opportunity to watch one of the best to ever do it.
I live and work about 3/4 of a mile from Staples Center in LA and it was just surreal how it felt like the whole town took a collective gut punch this morning. I'd walk by people today and we'd both kind of make reluctant eye contact, one or both of us would shake our heads, and there'd be a, "Kobe, man..." It took about 30-40 minutes then every other person would be decked out in Lakers gear and Kobe jerseys. I saw quite a few bouquets of purple and yellow flowers as people headed down to the makeshift memorial at Staples. What a shit day.
This went viral a week or two ago, and man, I was so looking forward to seeing what Kobe was going to do in life after basketball. The proud look on his face when she gets what he's telling her... damn.
RIP to him, Gigi, and the rest of their friends on board.