Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Man this is a tough day for me, lost my cousin today as well. We weren’t super close but we’re still family. I woke up on my birthday to hear about Kobe and his daughter and about my cousin just hours after that. 1 year ago and 1 week i lost my favorite uncle so this month is extremely tough remembering it but at the same time my daughter was born 3 days before my birthday. So its still special.

I tried to celebrate my birthday with my 1 year old daughter which i do my best to put a smile on my face but i have to dig deep not to get emotional on this day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ojandpizza]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Hearing it was Kobe was a huge shock at first, I was believing it wasn't real honestly. But if I'm being honest this wasn't hitting me any differently than someone else passing, I almost think it's sad that the reactions take away from the fact that we lost 8 other people. I've never understood the famous not begin human aspect of things like this. What really got me was his daughter being with him. I can't imagine how this feels for his family, or how it felt for him knowing he couldn't do anything for her.. Admittedly when they announced it was only 1 of his daughters I was a bit relieved, when they first announced it was 5 people my first hope was that all of his kids were not on board.

Others have posted already, but I echo the opinion of enjoying Kobe post retirement. He wasn't one of those guys who never gave the current generation their due, and I truly believe he was all about moving the game forward and teaching the younger guys. He seemed to always be willing to help train with anyone who asked, guys like Kyrie, Kawhi, Giannis, you know he had major impacts on them even after they had "made it". Seeing him with these guys, seeing him at Laker games, I'll definitely miss him being around. He's one of those that after he's retired you appreciate him because he's just a good human.

It's crazy seeing all the videos and stuff from his farewell tour, it all has a different meaning now I suppose. Gives me chills honestly. I watched the interview with Bron after he passed Kobe, he basically started with him being a kid all the way to now being in a Laker jersey himself. That could have very easily been a video made after all of this, it's wild to me that it happened almost immediately before.

[djep]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

I'm not really active on this board but don't really know where else to turn. Even after a near full day of processing the news I still can't believe it. This man was a legend unlike any other, like Superman in purple and gold. I got to see him play his junior year at Lower Merion and knew he was going to be a star in the league someday. When he announced he was headed to the draft the following year I told all my Knicks buddies that they had to do everything in their power to move up in the draft for him. Sadly he went to my most hated team, the Lakers, and the rest is history.

Kobe was an international superstar. His popularity and all the outreach he did in Asia for basketball is a large part of why the NBA gets so much money from overseas. He is by far the most popular player in China and the whole NBA owes him a debt of gratitude for what he did for the game and their wallets in the Asian market.

Post career, all that he has done for growing the women's game and all that he and his daughter Gianna seemed destined to do, I can't even express how devastated I am. Just can't concentrate here at work today so I can't fathom how the NBA thought it was a good idea to play the games last night.

RIP Mamba.

[scottyp180]

Re: Kobe Bryant reportedly died in helicopter crash

sounds cheesy, but playing 2k with Kobe will have a much deeper and somber meaning to me. Cherish life friends, we never know when our life will end. Nobody is immortal. Prayers to all.

I've been thinking about that too. I plan on playing 2k with Kobe as a way to grieve and mourn the loss.

This is easily the most devasting celebrity/sports figure death I've experienced in my life time (30 years). There have been some shocking and tragic deaths but this one is different. You can't rationalize it or place blame on someone. This wasn't an OD, a senseless murder, drink driving accident, heart attack, etc. With one of those deaths you can at least put some understanding behind it (they shouldn't have been doing drugs, it was the killers fault, it was the drink drivers fault, there was a health issue, etc). Nope this was a random, unpredictable accident that occured while he was doing something be probably does at least once a week. And on top of that his 13 year old daughter was with him too. Just awful.
RIP to all involved.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Just a caution, there are some terrible memes out there. He and Gianna are still survived by the rest of their family, man.

Just out of curiosity (and I know this for the most part is too soon), but clearly some more information will come of the cause of the tragic incident, correct? Even if it was a private helicopter, do they still communicate with the ground somehow?

I know with planes you do, I'm assuming helicopters are the same.

Yes the copter was in contact with air traffic control. From what I've seen online thus far. The pilot was "flying under visual flight rules (meaning you avoid obstacles by looking out the window)" but the weather made it impossible to do that. So the control tower was guiding him through the dense fog. The control tower instructed him that he was still flying too low to be picked up by radar due to the hilly terrain of the area. From what I saw earlier this morning the copter circled LA for about 15 minutes waiting for clearance from traffic control because of other flights before finally being cleared to proceed along Interstate 5 through Burbank before turning west to follow US Route 101. The helicopter ended up turning again toward the southeast and climbed to more than 2,000 feet above sea level. It then descended and crashed into a hillside at about 1,400 feet. Someone mentioned that with low clouds/visibility, it's possible that the pilot had lost "situational awareness" meaning he was lost and might have taken a wrong turn as he tried to sort it out. The copter was in a climbing left turn when it crashed. A source apparently reported that moments before the crash, the pilot had notified air traffic control that he had begun a climb to go above the layer of clouds present.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Aaliyah, Reggie White, Sean Taylor, Nipsey and Kobe’s death have hit me harder than any non family member.

**** is crazy.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Video of Kobe explaining why he began traveling via helicopter. Kobe absolutely adored his daughters man. Need more of that in the world with fathers and their kids.

https://wgci.iheart.com/content/2020-01-27-video-surfaces-of-kobe-explaining-why-he-started-using-a-helicopter/?fbclid=IwAR3C4GYbH3iSjJKFgIiBUsX40sBiHSRR9qgCex3TSRFE87SqCXpHPWG42Nk

[scottyp180]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

How do you handle losing two loved ones at once like that. Brutally losing one is hard enough man that's a nightmare for Vanessa and her family. How do you recover.

I can't even imagine. The only sliver of positive I could think of is the amount of support they will receive from friends, family, and even fans that don't even know them on a personal level. It's gotta help at least a tiny bit knowing that millions around the world are mourning as well.

But still I cant possibly fathom and process how devastating this must be.

[scottyp180]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and at least three others die in helicopter crash

They can literally press those jerseys an hour before the game at the arena if they really had to. That’s how quick the process is. I don’t think anybody is talking mass producing the jerseys to sell to the public but if you’re doing it for the players to wear on court for the game, that’s like what 26, 28 jerseys? They do more than that on draft night for players getting selected.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Yeah Tre Young wore 8 yesterday. That had to be a decision he made hours before the game, if that. No reason they couldn't do the 24 and 8 idea for the all-star game. And really who would say no to that?

[scottyp180]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Today came so close to being just another day. Wish it had been. A great loss for everyone who likes basketball and a tragedy for the Bryant family

Sent from my DIG-L21HN using Operation Sports mobile app

It's amazing how much we take "just another day" for granted. I think it's common for people to think about how much better things could be in life. It could be something as simple as "ugh it's just another, boring day" and we might think about all the things we wish we were doing or the places we wish we could be. But when a tragedy like this happens you are just happy to have a day. Doesn't matter if you are living the day "carpe diem" or just having a lazy, "do nothing" kind of day. Both are far better than a day like yesterday and we are just fans. Can't even imagine how close friends and family are feeling. It's heartbreaking thinking about it.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

I would love to see the logo changed to Kobe. I don't think anybody would have a problem with it. I know Jerry wouldn't. He's wanted it to be someone else for years.

I hope it happens.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[ojandpizza]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

Ehh I’m going to vote no on that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Anthraticus]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

I'm hearing the original pilot wouldn't even fly because of bad conditions (fog), and Kobe went and found someone that would.


If so, beyond horrible decision putting all those lives in jeopardy.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about celebrity deaths, just be cautious of what you see/read online.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and several others die in helicopter crash

I never thought I’d shed tears over Kobe Bryant, yet here I am the day after, still shook up over this for reasons I can’t even understand.

I was never a Kobe fan and still I found myself crying off and on most of the day as if I lost a family member. Even this morning there was still a flood of emotion I had to try and hold back. I can’t explain it.

Why this one is different than any other death, I don’t know. Maybe it was the circumstances. Maybe it was the disbelief and the way it felt like the world stood still. Most of all maybe it was seeing the reactions of all the players and coaches and thinking of the effect this is going to have on everyone from them to the fans and most importantly to his family. It just hit differently.

Like I said, I was never a Kobe fan. Hate is a strong word, especially on a day like today, but I guess you could say I rooted strongly against him. On these very forums I used to try and slight his skill and success by saying things like, “he’s just copying Mike”. Well, do you realize how insanely skilled you have to be to “copy” Michael ****ing Jordan??

I also used to get into all of those debates about “who’s better? Kobe or MJ? Kobe or LeBron?” and now it really puts into perspective how little any of that really matters. How we don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it. And I hope that whatever good comes from something so tragic, part of it is that we appreciate not just the players, but our own lives and our own families. Because clearly we never know when it’s all going to end.

I remember reading a book in school about Kobe’s upbringing. How he struggled to make friends and be accepted for who he was. How his love of basketball helped him cope with that and be himself. No one loved the game more than he did, and it was clear even after his retirement. The way he took pride in teaching the game to Gianna and seeing the effect the game had on her. The way he so willingly passed his knowledge of the game on to other players.

As fans of basketball, I think that’s why this one hurts so much. Because love him or hate him, you couldn’t deny his love of the game. And if there’s a silver lining to find in all of this, maybe it’s that the kid who put so much love into the game of basketball, the game has and will continue to give back to him for years and years to come.

There’s so much more to say but at the same time it’s so hard to find the words to put it all together. I haven’t even touched on the fact his daughter and so many others were lost with him, which just adds to the difficulty, the confusion, the pain and the sadness. Even this is just a mess of thoughts, but it’s something I felt I needed to get off my chest. All of this coming from someone who was “never a Kobe fan”. Imagine that.