Tonight, I was shocked at the level of responsibility the basketball world has given Kobe Bryant. It is more than just basketball.Rather than leading chants for their own team in victory, the Suns' fans chose to deride Kobe for losing. Rather than chanting "MVP" for Steve Nash or "Go Suns", they chose to scream "Kobe sucks." Getting more satisfication to see Kobe lose is just staggering. (Note I say 'Kobe,' not 'Lakers') That's simply astounding. How many players can elicit that kind of hate. They love to hate you, even more they love to love their own. That is not respect. That is fear. The Lakers are no longer a basketball team, a worthy foe. They are Kobe, the enemy they would pay to see him lose than watch their team win.But it has moved beyond just the fans, and now into the media. All series long, analysts and commentators no longer credit Kobe's play in a loss - if the Lakers lose, the blame is on him. The fact that he played a great game is a moot point. In a loss, Kobe can do no right. Kobe can never play well if the Lakers lose; after all, the argument goes, if Kobe plays well, the Lakers should win. No other player is held to that standard. The inherent implication of this is that Kobe is the greatest player in basketball, but more than just a player. He has transcended the role of a great player; instead, Kobe embodies an entire team, a franchise, a city.For Kobe Bryant, the conversation has moved beyond his play, and only that of: he's responsible for everything that happens on the basketball floor, for both the home and opposing fans.There has been only one other player in NBA history that has been judged by that level, and that player was Michael Jordan. The funny thing is, most haters hate Kobe for being compared to Jordan (although he never made that comparison, and deferred to Jordan with humility), but the haters have unwittingly elevated Kobe closer than ever to Jordan.And Michael Jordan was only vindicated by winning. And through that, he won the right of being called the greatest basketball player.Kobe is now at the threshold of a similar opportunity.Playing excellent basketball, being the best at your position, achieving progress is meaningless. Those are for mere mortals. Now Kobe is considered a one-man wrecking crew, no more, a monster, a frankenstein, the wolf man, Bill Simmons' Darth Vader, the foil to every non-Laker fan's hope.And if Kobe is responsible for everything that goes wrong, the opportunity to take credit when things go right is all his.You see, you have players like Lebron James, who has also played great individually, but when the Cavaliers lose, the conclusion is that he needs more help from his teammates. Nevermind he has one of the best centers in the league and solid veterans surrounding him. The point is, Lebron has not transcended individual play.For Kobe, there are no excuses. If Kwame drops the ball, it is Kobe's fault. If Odom and Smush can't hit a shot, it is Kobe's fault. And Kobe haters join hands and dance. They dance and chant and burn Kobe's effigies.The stage is set. The stakes are high. The mob have lit their torches, raised their truncheons, sharpened their knives. They want your blood, Kobe. They want to see you die.And it will be all the more sweeter to rip their hearts out.This season begins now.
He makes some good points, but two of the biggest points he makes are definitely wrong in my mind.Yes, fans like to see Kobe fail, but just because they chant "Kobe sucks" doesn't mean they want to see him fail more than they want to see him win. I could see that if that is all the Suns' fans chanted, but they also chanted "MVP" for Nash.Also, there have been other star players that have to take the blame if their team loses. It just seems LeBron is the only one (and I agree) that has the "excuse" that he doesn't have enough help when in reality he has more help than any of the superstars I'm thinking of (Kobe, AI, T-Mac in Orlando, etc.). Obviously Kobe has the highest degree of this, but to say he is the only one other than MJ to have this sort of responsiblity is insane, in my opinion.EDIT: And I don't see how the media hated on Bryant this series. They had praised him all series long (with the exception of possibly tonight), and most of them wrote the Suns off after Kobe gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KMart @ May 7 2006, 12:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>So people hating Kobe Bryant is new to this guy?</div>No, but the kind of hate that he got from the Suns was ridiculous. It's like they didn't even know what team he played for, when Kwame's at the line, they're chanting "Kobe Sucks" when Steve is on the line, they're not chanting "MVP", they're chanting "Kobe Sucks".
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lakaboy42 @ May 7 2006, 04:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No, but the kind of hate that he got from the Suns was ridiculous. It's like they didn't even know what team he played for, when Kwame's at the line, they're chanting "Kobe Sucks" when Steve is on the line, they're not chanting "MVP", they're chanting "Kobe Sucks".</div>I don't know what game you were watching, but they most certainly chanted "MVP" for Nash, as well as "Kobe sucks." All star players are treated like that.
