Forever Mamba

8 years old-

I’m playing ball in the rain // Doesn’t matter if I catch cold or sprain my ankle because I love this game // For the first time watching the NBA // Taking down the Kings in the playoffs, that’s been the Laker way // Then I get to brag to my friends at school the next day

 12 years old-

Depressed I didn’t make the travel team // Coach told me I had heart but still couldn’t have a seat // That night, as if I didn’t just watch the game, it’s Stuart Scott spitting a verse over the highlight reel // Kobe dropped 37 and came up with a clutch late steal // But, the Lakers lost to the Heat in the rematch with Shaquille O’Neal

14 years old-

I woke up in South Side San Jose, // A little cereal and then we out for the day // Needed sneakers so I borrowed my cousin’s J’s // Without asking cuz he never would have let em my way // After 5 hours of playing our favorite sport // We adequately proved we’re the kings of the court // Hungry after hooping; so we pooled 9 bucks with all our change // For Jack in the Box tacos, junior burgers, hot sauce and mayonnaise //

Later that day our parents were in the living room being way too noisy // We need the sound for this game so we upstairs on a little grainy TV // Another instance of the Lakers dogging the Dubs // Kobe dropped 42 en route to defeat our hometown club

18 years old-

My hoop dreams faded away // I met new friends named Ernest and Julio, you might know them as E&J // That summer I fumbled my admission to college while the Lakers won their last title // My own stamina and knowledge wasted on idle nights // I realized I’m doing the opposite of my basketball idol //

I decided, like Kobe I’ll get to the top of field // And overnight my ambition was sealed

21 years old -

Determination has limits I learned in one moment // Kobe tore his Achilles (before making two last free throws) and walked away from the basket // Tears mixed with determination; intensity no one could match it // it’d be the end of his career that I grew up with and we all knew it

Sports heroes have ceilings, too, and how we respond might matter the most // His first public words, written on a late-night Facebook post, “If you see me in a fight with a bear, I’d rather you pray for him” // A lesson: we would never let up until the end // It’s a thread I weaved into my dna

24 years old- 

For work I took a personality test to align my skills with our team’s mission // To my surprised grin, results said my top ‘strength’ was competition // Lasting evidence of my adoption of Kobe’s Mamba Mentality

A passion bigger than basketball made its mark on me  // Reminders cycle to where it started, back in 2003 // Whenever I splash my balled up paper in the trash, and under my breath whisper, “Kobe”