Dear Kobe Bryant,
I hate you.
Can you blame me? As
a Celtics fan, I rooted against you for two decades. I rejoiced in your agony when my Celtics beat
you in the 2008 Finals. Paul Pierce
deserved it way more than you did. You already
had three rings at the time.
But three just wasn’t enough for you. You got your revenge and ultimately your
fifth ring in 2010 while ripping my heart out in the process. I hope you still know how lucky you are that Kendrick
Perkins was out for Game 7.
I read your letter in the Players' Tribune today and was
shocked. Not because you announced your
retirement – we all already knew that. I
was shocked because of the way your letter made me feel.
In my mind, I have always grouped you and Derek Jeter
together. You are the players that we as
Boston fans bitterly hate, but cannot help but respect. You played the game the right way – with passion,
pride, and professionalism.
You were true students of the game who pursued greatness by
working harder than anybody. You became generational icons of your
respective sports. You embraced every
challenge. You gave it your all. You put
your bodies on the line. You knew how to
win. You respected your sport, your
craft, and your rivalry with Boston.
December 30 marks the last time that you will play in Boston. This is also the last opportunity for us
Celtics fans to cheer our team to victory against arguably the most dominant
player in the storied history of the Celtics and Lakers.
As you go, so goes what is left of the rivalry that once dominated
the NBA. Perhaps someday it will be
rekindled by new faces. Perhaps not.
So when you come to the Garden next month, I hope the crowd puts
you through hell. I hope we heckle you and
boo you more emphatically than we did in the championship bouts. I hope you miss every single free throw. I hope you never forget what it’s like to be
surrounded by 17,000 screaming fans who bleed green and would give anything to watch
you fail one last time.
I hope we beat LA once again. And when you get pulled from the lineup halfway through the
fourth quarter when my Celtics are up by 20 points, I think something
beautiful will happen.
Every single person in the Garden will stop
booing. We will rise to our feet and show respect in the form of the loudest, most passionate standing
ovation you have ever witnessed. We will
chant your name. We will wipe our
eyes. We will say our bittersweet
farewells.
They say you never truly know what you got 'til it’s gone. So before you go, I just want to say thank
you for being far more than just a great basketball player. To an entire generation of NBA fans, you are basketball.
I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I’m really going to
miss you.
Love (and hate) you always,
A Celtics fan who didn’t appreciate you enough
