I’ve Got the Blues

With Kobe it’s a fear of never winning a title again. It’s evident challenges mean nothing to him - trying to go to the lesser conference on a ready made team says that about him. Garnett suffers for a decade and it’s a tough, tough decision for him to leave. Kobe makes the playoffs two seasons in a row and cries to the media in a manner unlike I’ve ever seen. The head games he tried to play were at times humorous. He’s my favorite athlete of all time, but he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a true leader. Deep down, he’s still the childish kid he was when he entered the league. Numerous athletes have endured much more pain and heartbreak, and yet, they keep their mouth shut and stay loyal.

Does Kobe have a reason for being upset? Of course. The front office has done a putrid job of surrounding the best in the game with a legitimate squad. But dealing with the situation in the fashion that he did made me take a second look at his character. A leader is someone who uplifts the rest of the team no matter how gloomy the forecast is. Having a roster that you deem unworthy of wasting your talent on is one thing, forcing your way out is quite another. You just don’t leave your team, franchise, and city in the dust after you run across the country.

You just don’t.

The once unthinkable scenario is quickly becoming an unthinkable reality; Los Angeles is going to be without their child. It won’t be long from now when we see the Purple and Gold take the floor at Staples without Bryant. Whether or not you are bitter at him for leaving the team, or angry with the front office for not making their star happy, one thing is for sure; it’s going to feel very dark and gloomy when that time does indeed come. If you think times are tough now, just wait - it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

The era of the dominant star in L.A. is coming to an abrupt end. History tells us that we won’t have to wait long until the Lakers are once contending again. I just hope management doesn’t feel Andrew Bynum is the chosen one destined to lead us to greatness.