Do people believe Kobe's personality is contrived?

Just got finished watching 1st and 10 and they have a football player (not sure what his name is) debating with Skip Bayless... the topic at hand was 'most hated athletes', based off the recent "Q" ratings . The two talked about LeBron, Chad Johnson, T.O etc, but when Kobe's name was mentioned, the football player immediately expressed his dislike for Kobe. "The scowl, the tough guy act, everything seems so contrived and phony it's no wonder he's on that list" (paraphrasing here). Skip pretty much agreed and that was that. After the segment I asked myself, [I]do people really this sh*t[/I]? Did a little a searching and came across these...

[quote]Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Leave the scowl at home, Kobe
By Tim Keown
Page 2

The strangest moment of the NBA playoffs took place during Game 3 of the Lakers-Rockets series, when Kobe Bryant hit an 18-foot turnaround jumper from the left elbow with Shane Battier's right hand in his face. Bryant immediately began shaking his head with a look that indicated he smelled something really bad. This -- as you know -- is Kobe's dismissive face, the one he now makes after nearly every basket.

But that wasn't the strange part -- after all, how can something be strange when it happens anywhere from 10 to 25 times a game? The strange part came afterward, when he started back downcourt and turned to the TNT broadcasters at center court and yelled toward commentator Doug Collins.
Kobe Bryant
We get it Kobe, no one can guard you. Now keep quiet and play the game.

"He can't guard me," Bryant said. Shaking his head, his mouth curled downward in a semicircle of disgust, he stared down Collins and said it again, "He can't guard me."

There was a pause on the broadcast. OK, that was meant for us, you could almost hear them thinking. So ... what do we say now? They couldn't ignore it, because it was clear to everyone watching that they were taken aback and that Kobe was the reason. Kevin Harlan acknowledged that Kobe was targeting Collins, one of the most even and knowledgeable minds in the game. When Harlan asked his partner what it was all about, Collins sounded genuinely perplexed. "I'm not sure," he said, and they quickly and quietly moved on.

And that's the deal about Kobe: None of us is sure. How can a guy with that much talent play with such little joy? Why does he feel he has to put on that phony tough-guy show all the time? Underneath all that pre-fab armor, who is he? Does he even know?

It's sad, maybe, but Kobe will never be appreciated in a manner commensurate with his ability. He's in the process of turning himself into an antihero. (In many respects, he is similar to Alex Rodriguez, another tin-eared superstar.) Everything he does reeks of insecurity, which is a really weird trait for a guy who -- along with LeBron James -- is a once-a-decade basketball talent.

Unlike LeBron, though, Kobe can't let his game speak for him. He has to accentuate everything with the facial expressions and the dismissiveness. It's not enough for him to beat someone; he feels compelled to belittle that person in the process. That's why one of the best things about the Lakers-Rockets series -- and, really, it's turning into a 700-page novel -- has been Shane Battier's reaction to Kobe's antics. And that reaction is this: zero. None. He acts as though he can't hear or see any of it.

Hey, Kobe, we know you're great. You know you're great. Shane Battier knows you're great. How about letting someone else say it first every once in a while? The way it works now, you're telling us so often that we're getting tired of it. Let us be the judge of whether someone can or cannot guard you. It's pretty self-explanatory, to Doug Collins and everybody else.

You see, I want to be able to enjoy Kobe's talent. I want to see it the way I see LeBron's: transcendent, mostly pure and emanating outward. It probably will never happen, though. Kobe won't let it.

For a guy with such a constant flow of creativity running through his game, it's amazing to see how calculated he is about his image. He comes across as though he's reading a script, and he's all wrong for the part (maybe Alan Alda reading a part meant for Harvey Keitel). There are just too many false notes, and the worst part is, he actually seems to believe this is what people want from him. This is the persona he has cultivated, and he's going with it no matter what. It's really kind of sad.

And this is where Kobe veers from the arrogant antihero routine perfected by someone such as Barry Bonds. Bonds didn't care what you thought about him. He thrived off the anger he generated. But this preening, jaw-jutting, head-shaking character is what Kobe believes people want.

Maybe it's his attempt to answer the questions of the Lakers' toughness. I don't know, but in the playoffs, his performances generally follow one of two themes: (1) He takes over the game and taunts everybody in sight, demanding that all acknowledge his greatness or (2) he steps back and intentionally doesn't take over a game, in which case his attitude seems to be, "See what they look like without me?" Either way, it's a tough act to embrace.

In the wake of Sunday's Game 4 disaster, when Battier and Ron Artest did guard Kobe -- and after which Magic Johnson said the Lakers defiled the team's honor -- it's a good bet Kobe will be at his contrived best in Tuesday night's Game 5. He'll probably dominate, and he'll undoubtedly let us know.

But here's a radical idea: Stop with the smugness and the arrogance. Play your game and let your talent speak for itself. You might not know this, but it does a much better job than you do. And if you're not going to enjoy what you bring to the court, at least give us half a chance.[/quote]

[quote=Bill Simmons]You get the idea. We learn nothing from today's superstars beyond the spin. Take Spike Lee's upcoming Kobe Doin' Work, which could be headed for an Oscar next year -- not for best documentary but for best actor. Blanketed by 30 cameras covering his every move during a 2008 game, Kobe tries to be funny, supportive, helpful, charming

No question about it.

It seems almost silly at times.

Its not even a case of "is Kobe trying too hard?", because he IS trying too hard, and only a noob wouldn't see this.

Hell.... even KPAH (Alphawolf) has mentioned this numerous times, and he's the no.1 Kobe stan on the planet!!

I think this is part of why many people dislike him and Bron is following his footsteps.

But to be fair to Kobe.... this is the norm in this generation.

If Kobe find motivation in a contrived way and feeds off it, it sure works so far.

Well, I do find it funny that his family is just about always waiting for him in the back hall way. You know, just as the cameras are ready to go to commercial.

I think every athlete has to try and manage their image somewhat.

As for the scowl, what I didn't understand is why he only seemed to start that in the Orlando series. It did seem like something he timed.

Most of it is. Like when Chris Rock was talking to him and he was trying so hard just staring at nothing.

yeah, its clearly a contrived image. especially the mean mugging and all that shit

What is kobe supposed to do after hitting a tough shot? Start laughing and giggling and shit? Of course he's got the 'scowl' on. Thats just pure concentration and energy. Dude plays to win and feeds off competition. These espn guys are just all p[B]u[/B]ssies that can't hang with that type killer instinct and drive. They have none of it themselves so they assume its just an act.

If all players were emotionless robots, the game would be boring.

The fact that this needs to be discussed is pathetic, like a bunch of gossiping little *******.

[QUOTE=tpols]What is kobe supposed to do after hitting a tough shot? Start laughing and giggling and shit? Of course he's got the 'scowl' on. Thats just pure concentration and energy. Dude plays to win and feeds off competition. These espn guys are just all p[B]u[/B]ssies that can't hang with that type killer instinct and drive. They have none of it themselves so they assume its just an act.[/QUOTE]

That's why they bag on Jordan all the time. Oh, wait...

[QUOTE=tpols]What is kobe supposed to do after hitting a tough shot? Start laughing and giggling and shit? Of course he's got the 'scowl' on. Thats just pure concentration and energy. Dude plays to win and feeds off competition. These espn guys are just all p[B]u[/B]ssies that can't hang with that type killer instinct and drive. They have none of it themselves so they assume its just an act.[/QUOTE]
:roll:

Where's the white text?

I dont fault him for the scowl, maybe he was just trying to start something new instead of Jordan's shrug or whoever started the chest beating thing.

[QUOTE=Kurosawa0]That's why the bag on Jordan all the time. Oh, wait...[/QUOTE]
Jordan was actually a bigger asshole than kobe. Dude trash talked like no other and always had a mean ass look on his face. But of course its not contrived for him.

[QUOTE=Connoisseur]If all players were emotionless robots, the game would be boring.

The fact that this needs to be discussed is pathetic, like a bunch of gossiping little *******.[/QUOTE]

You can be express emotions without being contrived. Stop being a dumbass. Those two are actually the inverse of each other. It's impossible TO convey true emotions when they are all contrived.

[QUOTE=tpols]What is kobe supposed to do after hitting a tough shot? Start laughing and giggling and shit? Of course he's got the 'scowl' on. Thats just pure concentration and energy. Dude plays to win and feeds off competition. These espn guys are just all p[B]u[/B]ssies that can't hang with that type killer instinct and drive. They have none of it themselves so they assume its just an act.[/QUOTE]
which is why he always did this right? Cause its a natural emotional reaction right? Uh no, its obviously contrived (as was his tongue shit earlier in his career).

also, why are you people acting like the choice is contrived, forced emotion or no emotion?

Yeah, I do think it's contrived. That along with just being such a prick for so long is what makes him impossible to root for IMO. Which is actually a shame, because the guy has mega talent and has done some things on the court that are really incredible. As a lover of basketball, he's made me rewind a play or two because if you really love the sport it's just not possible to never appreciate anything he does. That said, the force of his personality overshadows his greatness 99% of the time for me. And that's saying a lot.

I just think that he really doesn't have a personality, and so he's latched on to what he thinks he "should" be. Whether it was the Michael Jordan mimicry, or calling himself a "Thug Poet" even though he grew up in Italy and then a well of suburb of Philadelphia. It would be like Carlton Banks throwing up gang signs. It's like come on man. Now he's going with the whole "intense scowl when I make a big play" phase, which may be more annoying and fake then any of his other phases.

I'd actually have more sympathy for him if he wasn't such a jerk. It couldn't have been easy to grow up in Italy, in a completely different culture, and then come back to the US and feel like you have to conform to a culture that you really didn't experience until later in life. I'm sure a lot of this phoniness comes with trying to fit in with "urban" basketball culture/life though he didn't grow up in it.

Neverthless, it doesn't excuse his primadonna attitude, and generally unpleasant nature. I don't buy his fake tough guy looks, I don't buy his "comraderie" with his teammates, I don't buy any time he attempts to be gracious, everything (except his talent) about him comes across as false.

That article seems to be talking more about showboating than a contrived personality. I don't think he showboats excessively (compared to other star players that is) but his personality does seem quite contrived. He's always been socially awkward and over the years he has manufactured his personality (again, more so than the average star).