Kobe Bryant Dead

[Uther]

Afraid I also had no idea who the guy was.

RIP anyway.



Something to do with trainers?

Nope, I’m afraid I know the Michael Jordan name but off the top of my head I don’t recall what he’s famous for, probably because his sport / whatever isn’t in my interest group.

Exactly this. All I've found out now (from this thread) is that he played an American sport and was a rapist.
Shame for the kids that died, helicopters are dangerous things.

 

[Junglist]

Then what's the point in coming into a thread if you have no idea who he was? The guy who died from Monty Python, had no idea who he was so I didn't bother popping into the thread in order to leave edgy remarks. Get a grip.

TBH it's hit me more than I thought. I really admired the guy and his work ethic. He was a huge influence growing up. I feel terrible for everyone involved. Someone else lost a daughter and husband too.

I was a huge Allen Iverson fan growing up but Kobe was something special. Him and Shaq were just phenomenal that even I, as a 76ers fan, couldn't ignore.

 

[robfosters]

State of this forum sometimes

 

[PC777]

He died at the young age of 41 in 2020 yet went far back enough as a major star that he had an N64 game devoted to his name at age 18 or 19 from last century. The 5 NBA championships weren't a bad achievement either.

That you should tell enough about the cultural impact he had, less so in the UK obviously, but I've known who he was since owning Kobe Bryant's NBA Courtside for N64 back in 1998 or so, then later as he was accused of a serious crime he was in the news again over here.

Acquitted with some doubt but he was still a devoted family man who died with his young daughter, extremely tragic, though likely was very fast for all involved.

The helicopter pilot was a hugely experienced instructor, yet he still flew into a mountain at 185mph at a height of 1700 feet - seems even with all that experience the fog was devastating.

They weren't even travelling that far, could have easily been a road journey instead, but road crashes are higher statistically, you just never know when the end could be.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

What has amazed me about this thread & Facebook is how many people watch Basketball.
I didn't know so many UK people were fans.

 

[PiKe]

I used to watch it back in the late 90's early 2000's but it became harder to watch when it was no longer broadcast on channel 4.

 

[neckbeardthethird]

What has amazed me about this thread & Facebook is how many people watch Basketball.
I didn't know so many UK people were fans.

Very popular in inner cities, especially London. Everyone in my youth knew who Jordan, Shaq, Magic, Rodman etc were.

Although it's not one of the main sports in the UK it's the second most popular sport on the planet in terms of participation (thanks in part to the huge market in China)

 

[Andybtsn]

I used to watch it back in the late 90's early 2000's but it became harder to watch when it was no longer broadcast on channel 4.

Yep me too. I loved the Chicago Bulls, I soon lost interest mind, I told the wife and she knew who he was, it's one of those names you just know unless you've been living under a rock or sit at a desk all day, every day and don't take any notice of news/sport/entertainment.

 

[Zenduri]

What has amazed me about this thread & Facebook is how many people watch Basketball.
I didn't know so many UK people were fans.

I went through a bit of a phase from 2000-2006 where I was mad for Basketball. Stupidly enough lobbing something in the air/at a bin still to this days warrants a "Kobe" callout from me lol

He was one of the legends of the game and to go at such a young age with his daughter is really sad. RIP

 

[Pyr0m@nI@]{]

Only just read this. Shocked!
RIP Kobe & daughter, the rest of the passengers and pilot

 

[Junglist]

My cousin was obsessed with basketball, he even played for Bristol Flyers, before they joined the league and before that he played for Reading Rockets. I went on a few basketball camps with Reading Rockets between the 11 until about 15.

His team was Orlando Magic but I didn't want to look like a copy-cat so I supported, for no real reason, the 76ers. Iverson was just icing on the cake, i idolised that man, i wanted everything he had even his hair (perhaps not his money problems)

 

[PC777]

What has amazed me about this thread & Facebook is how many people watch Basketball.
I didn't know so many UK people were fans.

I think a few big factors in the late 80'/early 90's helped many people in the UK learn about basketball.

Nike Air Jordans and the Jumpman logo, almost everyone who wore or liked Nike knew who Jordan was, likely people who didn't even know one other basketball star knew who he was.

For other players the NBA Jam games were very popular at the time as truly great multiplayer games with real life team rosters you could pick from, though not Jordan. I first learned about most other real NBA players from NBA Jam on Snes around 1994.

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

NBA Jam was a big one for many yes. John Madden on the Mega Drive got me into American Football too. I used to watch it on channel 4 I think back in the 90s. Americans know how to hype sports that's for sure.

 

[mikeyw85]

Well this hit me like a ton of bricks. For some reason basketball was very popular at my secondary school and i got really into it. Growing up in the 90's and 00's, Kobe Bryant was one of the big names. I'm not too surprised there's people who don't know him, there's lots of sports I know next to nothing about.

Bit of a depressing thought but I feel like a lot of the sort of big names in my growing up have died. I suppose really there's a lot of big names so it would be unusual if we lost no one. There's more i can't remember just now but, Layne, Chester, Michael Jackson, Mcrae and even Schumacher, who i know is still with us but feels like he's gone and we've just not had the oppertunity to celebrate or remember him.

 

[Thekwango]

Americans know how to take **** sports and 'pimp' the **** out of them.

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

lol.

I'd much rather watch basketball than football personally. I find football agonisingly dull when I do decide to watch it.

 

[neckbeardthethird]

Everyone played NBA, NHL and Madden on the megadrive back in ye day, that's how myself and my mates got properly into american sports.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Everyone played NBA, NHL and Madden on the megadrive back in ye day, that's how myself and my mates got properly into american sports.

Well there you go, I've never played games except on the Atari 2600 and the Mattel Intellivision.

 

[SideWinder]

Is the concept of someone having not heard of a basketball player alien to you?

Nah just found the wording rubbish. Clearly he isn't just "some dude" ...

 

[Malevolence]

Everyone played NBA, NHL and Madden on the megadrive back in ye day

Everyone? I've gamed on nearly every console since the Atari 2600 and I've never played any of those, and to be honest I can't remember any of my friends playing them either.