In A.E. Housman’s immortal and canonized poem “To An Athlete Dying Young,” he writes: “Now you will not swell the rout / Of lads that wore their honours out / Runners whom renown outran / And the name died before the man.” His ode to an athlete dying young, written in 1896, is especially pertinent today as Kobe Bryant announced his retirement from the NBA on Nov. 29 with a poem. Housman’s poem speaks of a fame that has eroded with the sands of time. The young athlete he speaks of has slipped into oblivion. His fame has passed him by. It’s worth noting that Housman never saw Kobe Bryant play. He never saw Kobe drop 81 points. He never saw Kobe win five NBA championships. He witnessed not one second of Kobe Bryant’s legendary 18-year NBA career. It will take an unfathomable amount of time for the legend of Kobe Bryant to disappear into oblivion. Kobe Bryant is not an athlete dying young, he is an athlete dying old, extremely old, almost 40 years old. He will leave behind a legacy as one of the greatest athletes ever to play professional basketball.
From the time that Kobe entered the NBA as a fresh-faced 18-year-old out of Lower Merion High School, he played the game with a poetic sense of beauty. He moved his body with the ease of a master poet moving his words across the page. It makes sense then that the Mamba said goodbye to the NBA and the world of basketball with a poem. The poem, published on the Player’s Tribune, is an intimate look into the connection that Kobe has with the game that has defined his existence on earth.
The poem starts with Bryant reminiscing about his introduction to the game of basketball. Bryant’s father, Joe, was an NBA player, and when Kobe was a young mamba, he played with the San Diego Clippers. The franchise has since moved to Los Angeles, but Kobe writes of the first time he remembers playing basketball in the Western Forum, the San Diego Clippers’ old venue. At times, Kobe can seem like the least personable player in the NBA. He is a fierce competitor to say the least. The image of a six-year old Kobe rolling up his Dad’s tube socks and bouncing a ball in the Forum is a tender image. This moment was the beginning of one of the most successful careers in NBA history.
Twelve years later, when Kobe made his NBA debut, it was clear that he was a force to be reckoned with. In 18 seasons with the Lakers, he amassed five NBA title rings, 17 all-star nods, and two Olympic gold medals. Bryant always came across as a ruthless assassin; he was a cold-blooded shooter and had 36 game-winning shots in his career. Bryant’s poem reveals a less ruthless and more vulnerable side of the Mamba. The poem turns into a love letter to the sport of basketball. Bryant writes, “I fell in love with you / A love so deep I gave you my all / From my mind & body / To my spirit & soul / As a six-year-old boy / Deeply in love with you / I never saw the end of the tunnel / I only saw myself / Running out of one / And so I ran.”
Kobe fell in love with the game and made his mark on the NBA. He reached the pinnacle of the NBA alongside his Lakers teammates and stood on an Olympic podium twice with some of the best USA teams of all-time. The reality of life eventually caught up with Kobe. He was a superhuman athlete, but in the past three seasons a deteriorating Kobe has took a turn sharply downhill. As he writes, “My heart can take the pounding / My mind can handle the grind / But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye / And that’s OK / I’m ready to let you go.” Kobe has done us all a favor by announcing his retirement. It was tough to watch one of the greatest ever go 1-14 against the Warriors. He is slowing down, and now is the perfect time to call it quits. The rest of the 2015-16 season will most likely result in a whole lot of losses for the Lakers, but it will also be the farewell tour for Kobe.
The first major stop on this tour was in Philadelphia on Dec. 1. In Kobe’s hometown, he was presented with a jersey from Lower Merion High School and a standing ovation prior to the game. Kobe wasn’t able to turn back the clock and the Lakers ended up losing to the lowly Sixers 91-103. The Lakers are currently 3-19. The rest of the season may no go much better for the Lakers, but that’s OK with Kobe. He writes in the last portion of his goodbye poem, “I’m ready to let you go / I want you to know now / So we both can savor every moment we have left together / The good and the bad / We have given each other / All that we have.”
It may be true that Kobe has given the game of basketball all that his almost 40-year old body has left, but the fact of the matter is that the game of basketball will continue. There will be other superstars and talents that enter the NBA. There will not be however, other Kobe Bryants. The Mamba stands alone as a truly transcendent NBA player. If nothing else, Kobe has inspired kids across the globe to pull on a pair of tube socks and cradle a basketball in their hands. Farewell Kobe, you will be missed.