Farewell to a champion

For the last 20 years I cheered him on. As a Laker fan I love the moves he did on the court. He drove this team and his teammates to 5 championships. He scored 81 points in one game. It was his drive that brought the gold back to Los Angeles and placed 5 Larry O'Brien trophies in the Laker's trophy case. He has been the nightmare to the rest of league. He was a opposing defense's nightmare but he was a Laker fan's dream. During the '90's I observed the dominance of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. I will never forget how Jordan routed Magic Johnson and the rest of the Lakers and the anger I felt. I remember back in '08 when we lost to the Boston Celtics in the finals. As I saw the green confetti dropping down from the roof of the TD Garden in Boston I saw the look on Kobe's face. He would not let this stand. It's as though I could interpret the look on his face: "we will meet again only next time it will end in a Boston defeat". Two years later Kobe delivered on that promise as we royally kicked the Celtics' ass. Kobe drove his teammates very hard,some ended up hating him. But the ones that persevered ended up with championship rings on their fingers. Next season Kobe won't be on the court and with the threat from up north,the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry it could be a very long time before the Lakers are the dominant force they once were. Kobe,if you are reading this thank you. Thank you for bringing the gold back to Staples and thank you for making the Lakers great again. But most of thank you for Showtime II. At Among Other Things we wish you the best in the future. Thanks for everything you done for Los Angeles and for the Lakers. You will be missed.