As time has passed I've come to understand that there's two shitty truths in life, death and the silver medal. As depressing as the first may sound we all at some point have come to accept that our path will one day end and that we'll eventually pass on to another chapter up above. However, as sad a fate one may take death, I feel very much the same pain and sorrow when it comes to thinking of the silver medal. The sheer thought of it's existence startles my psyche so pervasively it often causes me fits. This anger has pushed me to realize how similar these two calamities truly are. Inherently they both represent the end, one of life and the other of a dream. Both so different yet very much the same. This similarity has caused me to wonder how an athlete such as Kobe Bryant handles the idea that no matter how hard he tries or how much he achieves he'll always be viewed as a silver medal, second best to Michael Jordan. My argument here isn't to prove which of these two is better as that debate has been tackled (unfairly and very poorly) before. No today all I want to talk about is how does one accept a silver medal, hence how does Kobe Bryant accept being number two?
The very notion of the silver medal fascinates me so much I'm often dumbfounded how others haven't lamented its sheer idiocy. Think about it, you're an athlete, a competitor, someone who wants to challenge him or herself against another. This battle comes with it a price, a victor and a loser. Simple no. Yet as this outcome has been set about beforehand, we the public have deemed it unfair or cruel to just award the winner, hence the inventions of the second place silver and third place bronze medals . Why? I'm not sure. Part of me thinks it's creation is due in part to a band of mom's. All of whom came together in an uproar as they tried to defend their sons shitty second place finish, only to realize that they could fix their sons problem by giving him a medal. As silly as that idea sounds so does giving someone a prize for coming in second.
In reference to Kobe I feel as if his career has been under a caleidoscope of "you'll always be second to MJ" rhetoric. Jordan captured a nation and a global conscious with his brand of dominance and competitive zeal. He helped usher basketball onto a world desperate for someone who embodied perfection. We followed his every move as we fell in love with his game and persona. With this, the Jordan brand took flight during a time of growth and expansion for the NBA. As time passed, Michael's aura of invincibility began to harden within our respective consciousness. Hell I'm not gonna lie, as a fresh faced 11 year old I fell in love with the Bulls and their leader as they stormed through the league for 6 championships. Michael for me could do no wrong, even if he did (his gambling allegations and debts aside, something Sam Smith touched on in his book the Jordan Rules, some of which has been brought more to daylight as many in the media believe Michael's Dad's death in late 93' was caused by his owing of 1.2 million in un paid gambling debts. The truth may never be brought to light but with all the testimonials from that time period claiming Michaels problem, one has to wonder if some if not all is true regarding his fathers' passing and his sub sequent retiring).
Yet for all of MJ's best qualities, I've always tried to understand that in sports you can never lay claim to one athlete being better or the best forever. At one time yes but the whole point of sport is to get better, to get faster, stronger, etc... Case in point Usain Bolt in Track and Field. His recent dominance lays claim to the idea that as time passes so do past achievemnts. Someone will always come around and be better, that's what makes sport so fascinating. As I mentioned before my argument isn't to try to point out how Kobe is better than MJ because for all intensive purposes he isn't. Ugh that was hard to write. But truly if you were to compare their achievements MJ eclipses Kobe. This begs me to ask once more, how does Kobe, someone who's openly admitted to want to be known as THE best basketball player ever accept his silver medal?
Honestly, we'll probably never know how he handles this truth, he might not even acknowledge it. However, as was the case with his winning his 5th title last season, Kobe'ss prone never to forget, thus prompting me to think that he does understand his place in history. That night in late june 2010, you saw it in his eyes the moment he came to the podium with his shiny new Larry O'Brien. After answering a few questions he quickly lamented the following to the world, something he wanted us all to know. "I've got one more than Shaq, and you can take that shit to the bank!". Game, Set, Match!!
With all his history with the games biggest personality, you could see how passing Shaq for most titles gave Kobe immense pleasure. As it should, seeing as with sport ones job is to conquer, to be better than another. He wanted to best Shaq, to show him and the world that he could win on his own. LA was his town now, the Lakers were his and he knew he could do it. His winning vindicated any demons he'd had upon saying that quote. Shaq knew it then and he'll know it forever (especially with his recent retirement), Kobe Bryant was better than he. However, the key argument here isn't Shaq vs Kobe. Shaq was never Kobe's challenge, MJ is and always will be. Michael was his idol and his goal. But time's running out, does Kobe have enough time to pass Michael for the gold? With all but 3 seasons left on his contract, I highly doubt it.
I may be wrong in predicting such a statement, Kobe may win a title or two over these next few years (whenever the league resumes that is) and therefore give more just cause to the argument of whose better between he and MJ. Yet once more, will that be enough? Barry Bonds recently passed Hank Aaron for most home runs ever, yet he's still regarded as the lesser of the two players. Brett Favre arguably had a better, longer and much more rewarding career than that of Dan Marino's yet even to this day Marino is still considered the better of the two.
Does likability factor in somewhere? I often try to think that as a fan I'm as unbiased and objective as can be. Over the years I've tried my best to see sport clearly. As an avid Laker and Kobe fan I'll be the first to concede when he's had a bad game and such. But hey that's just me. Am I alone in doing so? Will Kobe forever be handicapped by his rape trial in 2003?
All these questions aside, my thought process here today is this; As a fan of sport I find it fascinating that no matter what he does Kobe Bryant will always be regarded as a second place silver medal. Part of me wonders if he should even try anymore.
Again there's a dichotomy in my saying that because it's sport, he has to try.
And try he will.
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