Semi OT: Two years since the helicopter crash

[gardenofsound]

I'd have never thought that a celeb death would impact me, but it did in a similar way to how people talk about John Lennon, JFK, etc... you know where you were, what you were doing, who you were with when you found out. The only other celeb that had done that for me was Chris Cornell. Both were super unexpected and tragic.

I always admired Kobe's style of play. Shaq pissed me off as player because he seemed like a physical cheat code. Kobe was the heir to Jordan and I loved that he seemed to approach the game similarly. Insane work ethic, and a play style that was clearly modeled as a token of admiration.

I remember getting a text from my cousin with just "RIP Kobe Bryant" and I thought he was joking because Lebron had passed him on the scoring list. Same cousin was the one who woke me up with a Chris Cornell text a few years earlier.

It still doesn't feel real.

I hope everyone who passed in that crash is in whatever their idea of "heaven" and that their surviving families can get through this day with positive memories and love.

[Pharmcat]

Was a helicopter crash fyi

[gardenofsound]

Was a helicopter crash fyi

Whoops. Edited.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Two years now since he passed, rest in peace to Bean and all those who lost their lives on that flight.




And to his basketball brilliance.


https://youtu.be/gzIS-RiKckM


I loved the transition of his game later in his career to the post game, when he was cooking it was artwork.

[Slava]

Gone too soon, Rest In Peace Kobe, Gianna and all the others who were lost in that tragedy.

[Kingdibs19]

Two years now since he passed, rest in peace to Bean and all those who lost their lives on that flight.




And to his basketball brilliance.


https://youtu.be/gzIS-RiKckM


I loved the transition of his game later in his career to the post game, when he was cooking it was artwork.

There was other people on the helicopter besides Kobe, his daughter and the pilot? I never knew that wow

[Silverballer]

I found out through a text what happened as well. I was duped in the past that a celebrity had died once before, so I was sure this news was a joke also. Had to hear at work on the radio that Gianna was in the crash as well. It still feels surreal because one would think of Kobe as the type to live for a long time. It really seemed like he was going to have a glorious retired life ahead of him with being a businessman and a father and you can tell he was extremely satisfied and happy going forward. Truly tragic and heartbreaking.

[Warriors Analyst]

I found out about this aimlessly scrolling R/NBA and was absolutely distraught at the sight of the TMZ notification. I hated Kobe growing up and have very complicated feelings towards him. But seeing him go like that was tragic and deeply unsettling. It also happened four days after my 2 year-old cat, who was born in my apartment, dropped dead unexpectedly. As I tried to process the Kobe news, I went for a walk with my now ex-girlfriend and ended up walking by one of my old apartments, only to find it had been vacated and rendered uninhabitable by the city because of a recent fire. If I'd stayed there, which I had considered, I'd have been homeless.

Weeks later, Covid started to get real too. I don't know about you all, but Kobe's death did feel like the first bad omen for an absolutely miserable year.

I digress though, this thread isn't about our lives. Kobe didn't deserve to die like that and neither did Gianna. Despite all my complicated feelings about him, Kobe seemed to be making a clear and intentional effort to be a better person and to support women, perhaps as repentance for his previous actions. I wish Kobe had lived to be old. He and his family all deserved that.

[kuclas]

Yeah my wife isn’t a sports fan and said TMZ said Kobe died around 2-3pm eastern time. I’m like. Nah. TMZ is not reliable source.

I couldn’t believe it. Not just Kobe. But the others who died also. Thought he would live a long time. One thing If someone dies of cancer at
Early age. But something preventable like helicopter death in foggy weather.

Part of me angry. Part of me saying wtf. Why fly helicopter for 20 min?

Takes 15 min to get to the airport or where ever the helicopter was parked

It’s Sunday morning/probably no traffic (I know La traffic) and probably doesn’t take him max 60 min to drive to his location

[KRANG]

Seems like just yesterday, but also a lifetime ago

[Rodwilliams]

Was a sad day for me. Only time where I shedded tears for a celebrity.

[bape_lovers]

the world turn upside down after that with Covid and all

[cupcakesnake]

I was always a diehard Kobe hater but I was shook when I got the news. I was at a museum when it happened and I just wandered around, checking my phone, feeling so surreal. I had only just started coming around to appreciating Kobe game, as well as recognizing what an impact he'd had, personally. Sometimes being a hater is just the yang to the fan's yin. I was just as obsessed with Kobe as any of his fans were, but just rooted against him instead of for him.

I've been thinking recently about Kobe's media career he was in the early stages of when the crash ended it all. As a hater, I was prone to make fun of the stuff he was working on: "The Detail" where he'd breakdown game film and give advice he would have never taken himself (telling someone to pass to the open man lol), or "Musecage" the dark and twisted children's tv show where he'd teach children how to become competitive narcissists, or "Dear Basketball" aka how to get an Oscar on your first try by hiring Disney's best to animate and direct your little poem. (Ok hating over, just needed to it out of my rotten system!). I have a filmmaker friend who actually got to meet him at his studio to discuss future projects. She signed an NDA so didn't tell me about the details, but she told me "if you think musecage is weird then buckle up. ****'s about to get dark and weird". I think about how Kobe was going to make super weird stuff, and how I was going to eat it all up and be first in line for seconds. I think about how Kobe was going to be this strange rich guy artist for the rest of his life, and how interesting that was all going to be. I think about how unique Kobe was, and what an asset that was going to be in terms of him producing stories. We were already starting to see Kobe focus his hard work and mania on "storytelling" and I'm actually a bit heartbroken that we got deprived of that. His basketball career was over and he gave everything he had to it. But Kobe had a ton more to provide and that's what really got wiped out, for us, as fans and haters. Most basketball players are pretty boring in retirement, even when they stay in the public eye. Kobe was going to be anything but boring. The tragedy of Kobe's death is, first and foremost, a personal one for his friends and family. But the secondary tragedy, from a fan's perspective, is that Kobe was probably just getting started in terms of being an interesting character who contributed to the world. If Kobe's spirit is somewhere reading realgm message boards, I just want him to know I was excited about his art and his storytelling.

RIP Kobe. You are missed.

[MikeTheKid]

Still seems like yesterday, I was eating at a Pho spot watching CNN and I saw the alert from TMZ and couldnt believe.

Then we started looking on every site and then 15 mins later the crash came up on CNN and I couldnt eat anymore.

Later in the day when it was reported that Kobe's daughter and others were on the Helicopter it became numbing.

Never thought a celebrity death could really effect me but it felt like I lost a family member that day.

[Joshuan3]

When I saw the news I saw it on Google news and it was TMZ reporting it so I thought it was clickbait, then everyone on Twitter confirmed it was rue. I remember exactly where I was when I read the news, it wasn't confirmed if it was just his one daughter or all 3 daughters were in the helicopter, but man it was such a shock to hear.

I remember watching Cabbie Presents years ago and he did a few episode with Kobe and Kobe would use a helicopter to get to games skipping LA traffic.

RIP Kobe

[Spice Melange]

I was shocked when i heard the news, I thought no way is this real ill wait for confirmation. Once i heard the confirmation, I just got super sad about it. Im an LA Native and followed Kobes entire career so it hit different. Everyone around me, even those who didnt give an F about basketball were legitimately sad about losing LA's most beloved player.

[dzumaal]

I'd have never thought that a celeb death would impact me, but it did in a similar way to how people talk about John Lennon, JFK, etc... you know where you were, what you were doing, who you were with when you found out.

Same here. I wasn't even a Kobe-fan per say but it just felt like the world lost something or something just disappeared (can't explain it better).

I was playing Destiny 2 when my gf told me. Had to stop and felt kind of empty for the rest of the evening. After learning about his daughter and other people in the crash it felt just horrible.

[GSWFan1994]

Yeah, it still feels like yesterday that Kobe's death happened.

And, come to think about it... what came after was no good too. The world has gone upside down fast since then, and unfortunately with no clear end in sight.

As for Kobe, I'll be honest, I was not his biggest fan purely as player, but I had deep admiration and gratitude for the way he respected and loved the game of basketball.

He's one of the greatest ever to lace them up, needless to say. It's as simple as that.

I sincerely hope God, in His infinite mercy, keeps giving his family the fortitude to help them grieve him until the day comes where they are all reunited in Heaven.

[dhsilv2]

I couldn't tell you where I heard about it or where i was, but it's pretty crazy that was 2 years ago. Then again it feels like life in general stopped 2 years ago and nothing feels real.

One of the most tragic modern sports athletes to pass away way too soon.

[Ballerhogger]

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Favorite player of all time gone way to soon.

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