When I learned about what happened with Kobe Bryant and all the others on the helicopter it hit me pretty hard. Growing up I was a Lakers fan. Back in the days of Magic, Nick Van Exel and then Kobe came in right after high school. Kobe was amazing on the court. My absolute favorite time of the NBA is when Shaq and Kobe played on the Lakers. I have always told everyone that my favorite player ever, is Kobe.
I moved to Denver in 2003. Carmelo’s first year in Denver too. I hate to admit this, but I switched to a Nuggets fan. Carmelo was so much fun to watch and I lived in Denver where ticket prices were decent priced. The first year they made the playoffs and I got to go to a playoff game. Carmelo quickly became my 2nd favorite player. When the Nuggets and Lakers played each other, I always had to watch the game. My two favorite teams and players coming together to play a game.
One of my best friends in life, Nick, we would go to see Kobe and Carmelo play against each other. I moved back to Lincoln, however, we made a yearly trip to be in Denver and attend the Lakers game. The Lakers always had a great fan base at the games. Sometimes it was pretty close to 50/50. I’ll never forget all those games we went to. While I might of had my Nuggets gear on, I was always cheering Kobe on deep down. The biggest disappoint one year was when Kobe didn’t play. Nick and I were both so heart broken over it.
Looking back at those times, it was special to see Kobe play. It also meant a lot to me to have that time with my friend, Nick. What great memories I have all those trips we made.
Bobby