(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Why do grown men and women stop themselves from fully appreciating a quality athlete by being childish, immature, and dishonest about how that athlete compares with other stars in the game? And I am looking at both extremes here.
First, at some ridiculous Kobe fans who clearly have only recently started watching the game and think Kobe Bryant is already better than Michael Jordan. There is nothing they can tell you to prove this, but they simply believe it.
Just because MJ never scored 81 tells me nothing. Kobe Bryant is not already better than Michael Jordan, and any mature, honest observer of the game will tell you that.
Second, we have the equally ridiculous Kobe haters, who would have you believe that Bryant is an always overrated, petulant star who is as selfish and as good a leader as someone like an Allen Iverson.
These people, in their delusional world, believe Kobe is only a "scorer." Again, any mature honest observer of the game will tell you that Bryant is far more than simply a scorer.
Yes, I know Kobe is one of the most polarizing figures in sports, and I can accept that people will only either love him or hate him. But I believe this should remain in the realm of fandom alone.
Why are people so ridiculously biased either way? Why can't someone love Kobe and still understand and accept his many shortcomings? Why can't Kobe haters understand the greatness of the guy they hate? Is this asking for too much of grown adults who profess to love the game so much?
And I am talking here not just of casual fans, but a lot of TV analysts, newspaper writers, and scribes as well. The only people I see being honest in this debate are former players and the coaches in this league.
Almost all the people who are honest in this debate will tell you that while Kobe Bryant is not a Michael Jordan, he is not an Allen Iverson either. While he still has a ways to go to get to MJ's level, he's still a very great player and now, after his fourth Championship, one of the top 10-15 players to ever play this game.
He is NOT the best ever, nor the second best ever, nor the second best guard ever. Nor is he NOT in the top 50 or just another scorer and one of the most overrated players to play in the NBA.
He is a legitimate top 10-15 player of all time, but still has things to prove to further cement his legacy and take him to that Jordan-Magic level. All the honest observers I hear say the same thing.
Why can't casual fans learn a thing or two? And also ESPN's and Yahoo's analysts, who are so unbelievably subjective in their opinions sometimes for a large scale media organization.
Bill Simmons today said Kobe is not on Jordan's level because the same amount of people wouldn't look at Kobe in a room as they would Jordan. I mean, this is the level of journalism we've come to see in sports. It's absolutely ridiculous.
After such a feel-good story about the guy winning his fourth ring yesterday, all Simmons could get himself to do was bash the guy in a long diatribe and keep repeating ad nauseam the same old cliches of Kobe being selfish and petulant.
Simmons it seems couldn't "sense" that Kobe's teammates really loved him. I thought bloggers were to keep things honest.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Los Angeles Lakers articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
38 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete