I’ll never forget where I was exactly one year ago today: Brewers On Deck.
The Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee was packed for the Brewers’ unofficial season kickoff event.
Honestly, I was super nervous because I was set to interview Christian Yelich that afternoon.
Those nerves immediately turned to shock when the news broke that Kobe Bryant and 8 others, including his daughter Gianna, were killed in a helicopter crash just north of Los Angeles. The group was on the way to a youth basketball practice.
The mood change at the Wisconsin Center was palpable.
Thousands of light-hearted, excited Brewers fans silenced in an instant.
It was a true American tragedy, and I don’t think that’s overstating it.
We see celebrity deaths far too often.
Heck, we’ve seen a handful in the past week alone. Ted Thompson, Hank Aaron, Larry King.
But Kobe’s death hit me differently. I think it hit everybody differently.
A year later, I’m still trying to figure out why.
The closest thing that I could come up with is that we all silently walk around with the fear that we’ll lose a loved one every day. That our last goodbye might be THE last goodbye. Nobody wants to address that feeling, nor should they. You have to enjoy life and not live in fear. The Kobe tragedy forced us all to face that silent fear.
Alright, get to the point, Bryan.
The Kobe Bryant tragedy will always be a reminder of two things:
- Cherish your family over everything.
- Don’t let fear stop you from doing things you love.
That’s what Mamba Mentality means to me.
