Mamba 4 Ever!

There will be no Weekly Roundup this week and the Super Bowl preview will be delayed. This post will be all over the place. So bear with me. Laker Nation, the NBA, and all of the sports world, we are all in shock today. The news heard all around the world: Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven other people are dead after a helicopter crash this morning.

I can't believe that this is true. It's surreal to hear this. I can't even process this. If you were a Laker fan growing up in the 2000s like I was, you know from the back of your mind how much Kobe impacted the game. He was the reason why I became a Laker fan the first place. The memories are endless from the three peat with Shaq. The back-to-back titles with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. The individual accomplishments: 81 points, 62 points in 3 quarters, MVP in 2008, back to back Finals MVP in 2009 and 2010, 60 points in his final game. The list goes on and on. 

What made Kobe so special was his will to win and his relentless work ethic. The "Mamba Mentality." It's that mentality to be the best, better yourself each and every day, work hard, and stay locked in at the ultimate prize. If you go down, get back up, dust yourself off, and press on. And Kobe exemplified that persona. As a Laker fan, I've seen him play through many injuries whether it was an injured index finger or a torn achilles. He still pressed on and willed the Lakers to wins time after time.

It's so sad and tragic that he had a life ahead of him after basketball. He started a business. He won an Oscar for "Dear Basketball." He had so many projects in the works after that. He coached his daughter Gigi. It's sick that even Gigi was among the deceased as well. Just terrible news all around. I can't even think what's going through the family right now with Vanessa, Natalia, they just had a newborn daughter. I feel so sorry for them.

It'll be hard to process this for the next couple of days. As Laker fans, we've said this from time to time, the day Kobe dies will be a depressing day. We just didn't expect it to happen so sudden. We will miss you Kobe. But your legacy, your Mamba Mentality, 8 and 24, they will all live on in our hearts. Mamba out. Rest easy.