Fiendin' for a Ring

[Basketball Fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba

Fiendin' for a ring
By Scoop Jackson
Page 2
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There's a term used in the community called "thirsty."



It means what you think it means, but it's now being used in different contexts. Only to make a point of the extremes to which some people will go to get what they want. More severely, what they need.



Kobe Bryant, for lack of more sophisticated terminology, is thirsty.

In accordance with forum rules, please limit your quotations to 3 paragraphs, thanks.
-miles

[Slava]

I was surprised no one wrote an article with this exact "keyword" for so long. Its going to be big. On one hand, if Boston lose, the big 3 (especially KG) will be labelled the perennial losers in all of american sports. At the same time, Kobe will be recognized as the greatest winner, the biggest talent, elevated to the same pedestal as Michael Jordan and Magic and no one will ever even remember all the alleged misdemeanours of the past.

[Tricky Ricky]

I was surprised no one wrote an article with this exact "keyword" for so long. Its going to be big. On one hand, if Boston lose, the big 3 (especially KG) will be labelled the perennial losers in all of american sports. At the same time, Kobe will be recognized as the greatest winner, the biggest talent, elevated to the same pedestal as Michael Jordan and Magic and no one will ever even remember all the alleged misdemeanours of the past.

Trust me they will remember it, Kobe seems to be a hated player around the league and people will always bring it up when remembering him, I dont agree it should "affect" his basketball career but I know all about misdemeanours with the Patriots

[Basketball Fan]

-= original quote snipped =-



Trust me they will remember it, Kobe seems to be a hated player around the league and people will always bring it up when remembering him, I dont agree it should "affect" his basketball career but I know all about misdemeanours with the Patriots

Its not the same though I believe the poster was referring to Kobe's case above all else and of course his issues with Shaq. But the Patriots had Spygate and while that will be referenced nobody hates the Patriots to the extent Kobe Bryant is hated. Nobody.

It is what it is.

[milesfides]

I think the most compelling aspect of Kobe Bryant is that he is a human being, flaws and all. He's a 3-Dimensional person, not a sanitized, packaged product like Jordan. Jordan is like the Cleavers, a 1950s nuclear family, a protected ideal of what perfection should be "back in the day."

But Kobe's mistakes have always been analyzed, over-analyzed, under extreme public pressure. From his job to his private life, everything has been open to scrutiny from the lowest common denominator.

If his failures and his flaws make him "hated", it'll just be that much more inspiring when he does succeed. As Scoop presents it, Kobe's motivation arises from a place much deeper than a desire to be good at his job or a commonplace sense of competition. It's an addiction, an obsession, with his craft, like a Mozart, a Beethoven, in order to validate his past, present, and future, his existence itself.

I think it's nice to have idealized heroes, protected ideals. Whether it's MJ's deification or FDR's hidden polio, it's nice.

But all the thorns and thistles in Kobe's life irrevocably, and necessarily contribute to his unique story. Pride, Fall, Redemption, Grace, those are aspects of Kobe's journey that couch his story in reality while appealing to our imagination.

The fact that he's living it, that we're witnessing it, makes him all the more compelling to watch.

[3-Pt_Shooter]

In all fairness, Kobe was branded a "selfish guy" pretty early on in his career... which meant if anything bad happened on the Lakers, he was automatically blamed for it.

And, the difference between him and the Patriots... is that Kobe screwed up and cheated on his wife (which Jordan also did), but the Patriots were caught blatantly breaking NFL rules and cheating to get victories.

This is certainly a defining moment for Kobe. I believe that he has the ultimate winners mentality, which will be proven after he and the rest of the Lakers demolish Boston...

Lakers in 5 (maybe even 4)

[Tricky Ricky]

[quote="3-Pt_Shooter"]In all fairness, Kobe was branded a "selfish guy" pretty early on in his career... which meant if anything bad happened on the Lakers, he was automatically blamed for it.

And, the difference between him and the Patriots... is that Kobe screwed up and cheated on his wife (which Jordan also did), but the Patriots were caught blatantly breaking NFL rules and cheating to get victories.

This is certainly a defining moment for Kobe. I believe that he has the ultimate winners mentality, which will be proven after he and the rest of the Lakers demolish Boston...

Lakers in 5 (maybe even 4) [/quote]

I thought that going into the Lakers/Detroit series

[PapDaddy]

scoop jackson is amazing