Kobe leaves a void in the galaxy of sports

New Delhi: A thud. A smash. A dunk and a splash. Then there was eternal silence that echoed in the hearts of every sports lover. There was Ayrton Senna who went too soon. There was Arthur Ashe who saw the whole moon and there was Phillip Hughes who left in the middle while playing his favourite tune.
But this is not a tribute to any of them. This is not about the death of a sports star. This is about the death of a star. It’s not an analogy or a metaphor. Kobe’s death is actually as big an incident or event as the death of a real galactic star.
Before LeBron James there was Michael Jordan. Before Jordan there was Magic Johnson. Before him Larry Bird and before him we had bigwigs like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. But they were not Kobe Bryant. They had their run in the game, but they did not run the game like Bryant. His death is not only tragic, it is surreal.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend met a morbid and premature fate in a helicopter crash last week and the whole world was left numb. Kobe was not just a basketball player but an epitome of athleticism, diligence, dedication and fatherhood. His daughter Gianna, a basketball player herself, too met the same fate in the arms of her loving father. The two were on their way for a basketball game across town in Burbank.
We all grew up watching Kobe Bryant time and again behaving and saving the day like Superman. After Michael Jordan, it was only Kobe Bryant who deserved to be compared to a gothic and fictitious superhero. But there was nothing fictitious about Kobe. He did win the championship with Phil Jackson five times. He did score 80 points in a game once. He also scored 60 points in his last game before retirement at the age of 37. So, there was nothing about Kobe Bryant’s aura that can be deflected as urban legend. He was an actual legend. And like all legends who faded too quickly, Kobe’s death paints a picture of a teardrop on the face of eternity, a phrase often used for the Taj Mahal. In a way, Kobe was a masterpiece edifice that attracted millions of fans and followers from around the globe. Only a handful of celebrities have had that impact globally as Kobe did. Kobe was the “fountainhead” in the NBA world. If Ayn Rand were to be born in the modern era, then Kobe was her “Howard Roark”. But that is a tale for another lifetime, another era perhaps.
Life was just getting started for Kobe at 41. After retirement he had huge aspirations and his talents did not stop just at playing ball. His poem “Dear Basketball” received an Oscar win and Kobe’s talents outside of the court were also firmly established. Imagine stepping away from the game and writing a poem that attracted the likes of John Williams to lend music to his masterpiece short movie and winning an Oscar for it. Leonardo DiCaprio waited more than 20 years for his Oscar nod and he acts for a living.
As long as there is basketball, Kobe Bryant’s name will be glued in the list of greats who walked into the court and faded into the sunset. Yes, Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time, but according to Jordan too, Kobe was the only one who came close to him. There have been too many greats who have been lost to accidents, but Kobe’s ascendance was no accident. Named after a Japanese dish, the stalwart basketball legend has left a huge vacuum in the world of basketball. Kobe was like a comet with his blazing dunks and his effervescent friendliness.
Let us not forget that it is only a sport that unites people while they root for their favourite team. All differences are forgotten and all prejudices are blurred when a game is watched together. And with Kobe’s death, the world has not only lost a great athlete and role model, but a great human, a wonderful father and last but not the least, a formidable unifier. Let’s not forget that a sport divides a team, but it unites the fans.
Kobe’s death, though untimely, leaves us with a void in the world of not just basketball but the galaxy of sports entire. His cherubic smile, his humble disposition and his image as a doting father invoke not only poignancy but also instil inspiration so deep that it moves us to action if not tears. It may sound clichéd, but sports stars come and go, a legend lives forever.
To eternity and beyond. To sunsets and Kobe. He left the world a better place than he found it. RIP.