COLUMN: "The Kobe Bryant Show" needs to be cancelled immediately
Von Lozon | Staff Reporter
In the sports world, players retire every season. Many notable NFL players retired this offseason, including Marshawn Lynch, Charles Woodson and even Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson (reportedly).
None of those players made it a big deal throughout the season. Lynch made it official on the night of Super Bowl 50 on Twitter, Woodson announced his retirement a few games left in the regular season and Johnson still hasn’t even made his official.
Yet whenever you watch an NBA game that involves the Los Angeles Lakers, or any team for that matter, all the focus is on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.
Bryant announced very early in the year he would be retiring after the 2015-16 season. Since then, whenever Bryant and the Lakers go to opposing arenas, the teams go out of their way to make it “The Kobe Bryant Show.”
Flashy highlights fill the video screen while the announcer lists all of Bryant’s accolades and accomplishments throughout the years. They’ll say something along these lines:
“He’s had 18 All-Star appearances and five NBA championships. He's a two-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time scoring champion, four-time NBA All-Star Game MVP and one regular season MVP…ALL WITH THE SAME TEAM! FOR THE LAST TIME IN (insert basketball arena name here)! KOBEEEEEEEEEE BRYANTTTTTTT!”
It’s ridiculous and it needs to stop.
Look, I’m not going to just sit here and bash on him all day. He’s one hell of a player and it’s been fun watching him over the years. But it’s come to the point where I don’t even want to watch NBA basketball anymore.
Announcers go out of their way to talk about him and everything he has accomplished, especially with everything he’s had to go through. Again, that’s great. But it doesn’t need to be brought up during every game.
Earlier in the season when the Lakers went to play on the road in Toronto, it was the same thing. However, during the middle of the game, fans went even further.
Raptor fans at this point in the game don’t want to see their team win. They don’t even want to see their players play, which is crazy because they’ve got great talent in Toronto. All they want is to see No. 24 play for the final time.
Stop it.
If I went to Kobe’s final game at the Palace a few months ago and was just there to see Bryant and chant his name, I would be ashamed to call myself a Pistons fan. There is no way that I would be chanting for him. And for the fans that did, are you a true Detroit Pistons fan?
When New York Yankee great Derek Jeter announced his retirement, he didn’t get the kind of treatment from opposing teams that Bryant is getting. Not even close. And he’s more respected in baseball than Bryant is in basketball. Jeter was “The Captain.” Bryant is not at that level.
It seems like at this point, people don’t even care who wins the title this year. All that matters is that Kobe Bryant is retiring, right? Wrong.
When it’s all said and done, Bryant will go down as one of the best players in the sport. He’s had a great run as a Laker, but every good thing must come to an end and that’s what many fans aren’t getting.
Forget about him, watch your favorite NBA team, hope they win and move on.
