they retired kobe’s number tonight. my favorite basketball player of all-time. i used to pretend to be him when i played ball as a kid, i still can’t believe he’s retired. one of my fondest memories was when my dad was painting the garage and i had the playoffs on, on his new 52-inch toshiba flat screen. it was game 4, lakers vs suns and kobe hits the game-winner as time expires. that was my first buzzer-beater i’ve seen live on real time, no highlights. i ran around the house going crazy and then to the garage to tell my dad what had happened. i couldn’t believe it. sports really does give us fans moments and memories for the rest of our lives. seeing him look up at his numbers in the rafters was inspiring. i wonder how good he felt, i wonder if it even seemed real to him.
i wonder if i’ll ever experience those same emotions to the same degree some day.
-ratha, 11:56pm, 12.18.17