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  1. #1
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    Default Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    This is an article Kobe wrote I believe before the 2005-2006 season started. I'm not sure if many people here have read it or not.

    [QUOTE]Hunger defines me. I've always been hungry, but now my appetite has risen to a new level. My will is greater than ever. The motivation to succeed runs through me like blood. In this 10th year, my 10th season as an NBA player, the mountain I once climbed to reach the top looms in front of me again. I realize how hard it will be to climb it, how much I will have to sacrifice and overcome to get to the top again, how many people have told me I can't do it. But I savor that challenge. Feed off of it. That challenge helps give me purpose and inspiration. It helps me define life.

    At the beginning of this season there was a question floating around in my mind. What is my purpose? On one level I understood the reasons for why I do what I do, but on another level I felt an even greater commitment tugging at my soul. I'm a ballplayer, a teammate. A leader. But is that it? When I look back at my rookie season, I realize that all of the faces that once surrounded me are gone. I was a kid back then, eager to please, eager to find my place in a world that seemed familiar but different. The game was my refuge. I'd been going to it ever since I was six years old, in Italy, playing alone on courts thousands of miles away from kids who shared my same love. In a way, my dedication to basketball defined me. But that definition has grown. The struggles I've encountered over the last few years have made me realize just how much more there is for me to accomplish. I've begun a new phase of my life; I've opened new doors. And with new doors comes a whole new world of challenges.

    In my life I have won and accomplished much. I own three NBA championship rings. I've had plenty of endorsement deals and made a lot of money from them. But still, I feel as if I have yet to fulfill the blessing that God has given me in my ability to play this game. I feel as if there is so much more to do, on the court and off it.

    I don't know if this is how I am supposed to feel. Did MJ, Magic and the others feel the same way? In our society it seems like athletes are expected to care about winning the game, pleasing the crowd, and signing deals. Period. But am I supposed to obsess myself with winning only to win, retire and wonder if all my sacrifices were worth it? Is it OK for me to sacrifice time away from my children, time watching them grow up, missing Easter, Christmas and other special moments, to win a ring?

    What I have come to learn is that my desire to win, the will to pursue my goals with the highest level of intensity and passion, defines me. But I have been careful to keep my motivation pure. The distractions that come with winning, the idea of playing for the money or playing for the fame and prestige

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Final Part


    [QUOTE]What helps me understand and deal with this is the fact that I was once in their shoes. I once played a supporting role on this team. Back then I knew how much pressure Shaquille had on him to win a ring and I also knew I could help. So I studied the game offensively and especially defensively because I knew that if I could harass on the perimeter with him clogging the lane, it would demoralize our opponents more than anything we could do offensively. I also knew that the teams he played on in the past did not have a closer. No one could take the game over down the stretch or hit the game winner or make the key free throws. Those were Shaq's weaknesses, so I had to step up and make them my strengths. I knew how much more I could bring to the battle, but that wasn't my role. I was a scorer who became a facilitator in order to win. But now I worry because I know how hard that was for me to learn, how many sleepless nights I had and how much criticism and trade rumors I had to endure before I mastered my role. This is probably what my current teammates are going through. All I can do is pray that one day we will reach the same level of chemistry and understanding that existed between me, Shaq, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and all the other players I once went to war with.

    The fears I have are soothed a little by the presence of Phil Jackson. Simply put, he is the best coach I have ever played for. Everything I have learned about the game can be traced to him and Tex Winter. They teach the game at such a deeper level than X's and O's. The game is a rhythm, a dance. Phil and Tex have taught me to feel the game. To think the game without thinking, to see without seeing. They taught me how to prepare. How to conceptualize the spirit of my opponents and attack them where they are weak. I've seen how prepared PJ gets before games, and as the on-court leader he is trusting me to do the same. So I do all the things he has taught me to do before tip-off and once the ball is in the air my mind is at ease and my body is ready to play. I take it to the other team on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being able to do that. I HATE being scored on, even by players who some say are "un-guardable". I don't believe it when they say "Oh, that player is just hot today." F--- that! Cool his[..] off then.

    When we play on the road and the entire crowd is booing me it doesn't bother me at all. What I think about is simple: "When these fans leave this game I want them to remember how hard I fought and the passion and drive with which I played." I have always played this game with passion. And I always worked hard. When I saw the movie Rudy I remember thinking, "What if I worked that hard?" God has blessed me both physically and intellectually to play this game, so what would happen if I push as hard as the character in this film? I would love for people to think of me as a talented overachiever. Even though those fans may chant "Kobe sucks", when they leave that arena I want them to walk out with a different feeling than they came in with. When they leave they'll leave with the understanding that they have just witnessed a player give himself completely to his passion; they have just watched an athlete pour every ounce of his heart and soul out on that floor. And hopefully, when the next volume of my life is all said and done, they will respect and appreciate the years that I spent giving all of me to the game that means everything to me.

    Recently I have come to visualize my place as a black athlete within our society. I've always been aware of our history, from Jackie Robinson to Sweetwater Clifton. But I never felt like I deserved to be a part of our tradition because I grew up overseas, in Italy. In that way I am very much different than many of my peers. I never truly believed that my own people wanted to identify with me. But that's the thing about adversity: while you're going through it, you look around yourself and see exactly who it is that's rallying behind you. During my time of struggle I saw the truth. My people held me down. Their love and support became an experience for me and that experience will be with me for the rest of my life. It gave me a completely different understanding of my role. I had been wrong about my impact. Now I see that I can be a force in the lives of our youth. They look up to me for guidance and support. They have shown me that even though I grew up in Italy, I am a part of black America. The color of my skin ain't paint! It is, in fact, more than a color: it's the signifier of my culture.

    When I went to visit the victims of Hurricane Katrina and saw how their faces lit up when they saw me, how they embraced me, and how my presence lifted their spirits; I realized how wrong I'd been about everything. I've wasted all these years wanting to do things for our people but thinking I wasn't the one to do them, that I wouldn't be welcomed. But now I see that isn't true. The experience of Katrina and my own personal struggles brought me closer to our people. And through that closeness my motivation has become stronger and my purpose has become even clearer.

    Being called a role model has become code for being "able to sell product." But the true essence of a role model lies in influencing our youth to be better, not perfect, not to buy sodas or fast food or whatever; but to be better, no matter the odds or the circumstances. As an athlete I am someone who is in a perfect position to inspire our youth. They look at us as heroes not just because we win, but also because we fail. They witness us overcome obstacles right in front of their eyes. There's no editing, no CGI; everything about it is real. They watch us fall, get back up, fall, get back up, and fall again. In the course of a 48-minute game or an 82-game season they see us climb an entire mountain. It's my duty to help them understand that falling is a part of life and getting up is a way of life. The will to overcome is crucial. And because basketball is a metaphor of life this is a lesson I can give them as I struggle to accomplish my goals. As I help to rebuild my team on the court, I can do the same off of it, helping to rebuild and restore the lives of the people I see in trouble by inspiring them to do what the "experts" say can't be done.
    I have been an outcast my entire life. From being the only black kid in my town in Italy all the way to when I was 17 and playing in the NBA. What separated me from others, even more consistently than skin color or age, was my hunger. My mission. I've always been made to feel like there was something wrong with wanting to win so badly and wanting to become the best at what you do. But I have found a place to fit in amongst people with a similar vision, specifically my family at Nike. My[..]ociation with them means much more to me than just an endorsement deal. At Nike I am surrounded by people and athletes who share my will and my commitment to be number one at all costs.
    Last summer I had the honor of being invited to the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon for a ceremony honoring the company's co-founder, Phil Knight. We athletes had to wait in the green room before the show began. I found myself sitting amongst athletes that I had never met before but whom I felt right at home with.

    Let me explain:

    There are certain kinds of people that are purely driven. I can tell who they are simply by looking at them. I have faced so much criticism for my drive that at times it has alienated me from the majority: the people who are comfortable with second place, the people who hate against me because I am not. You know these kinds of people; they are the ones who fear winning, the jealous ones who envy and try to sabotage. They are the people who have been telling me I couldn't win all my life. Many times my drive to succeed has put me on an island all by myself because no one understood me, or they chose to misunderstand me. They chose to portray me as being something that I was not.

    So on that day, sitting in the Nike green room with those other athletes, I saw the purity of drive in their eyes and it reassured me that it was OK to be different than others. It's OK to want to be the best. It's OK to feel like a loser if you don't win it all, and it's OK to bounce back with a stronger will, a deeper sense of determination, and a desire to destroy your opposition.

    I have learned that it is OK for me to be me, and what being me entails. It means that I will not rest; I will not sleep, relax, relent or be satisfied until my goals have been met, the challenge answered and all my doubters silenced. I will not give in to my foes; I won't let down my teammates. I won't stop inspiring those who look up to me or stop giving motivation to those who motivate me. I will not back off until I'm back on top, back in the place where they said I could never be again. Mountains don't scare me. The LACK of mountains scares me. The climb up, the struggle for every inch of ground and every level of ascension is what feeds me. I welcome that challenge. I welcome that chance to be fed because no matter what

  3. #3
    NBA Legend oh the horror's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    It doesnt matter what it says...


    Kobe wrote it, so here on ISH, that means the haters will talk vast amounts of shit (probably without reading it) and this will span several pages, with various gifs, and arguments.

    And someone will throw in a "U MAD?" for good measure.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by oh the horror
    It doesnt matter what it says...


    Kobe wrote it, so here on ISH, that means the haters will talk vast amounts of shit (probably without reading it) and this will span several pages, with various gifs, and arguments.

    And someone will throw in a "U MAD?" for good measure.
    And its always the same u mad pics. Its getting annoying

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine


  6. #6
    You're welcome Yao Ming's Foot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Man this place would be a lot more enjoyable if the posters who consider him overrated could at least write as well as him.

  7. #7
    The One CelticBaller's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    lol didn't read

  8. #8
    5-time NBA All-Star Clutch's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine


  9. #9
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by Yao Ming's Foot
    Man this place would be a lot more enjoyable if the posters who consider him overrated could at least write as well as him.
    Yes, because he didn't have ghostwriters and editors punch it up in drafts.

  10. #10
    You're welcome Yao Ming's Foot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by AMISTILLILL
    Yes, because he didn't have ghostwriters and editors punch it up in drafts.
    Do you have evidence that someone else wrote it for him? Please share...

  11. #11
    Dunking on everybody in the park
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by Yao Ming's Foot
    Do you have evidence that someone else wrote it for him? Please share...
    Do you have evidence that he wrote it?

  12. #12
    You're welcome Yao Ming's Foot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by M.Bustly15A5RU8
    Do you have evidence that he wrote it?
    You mean aside from Dime Magazine publishing it as written by Kobe Bryant on the front cover?



    Does Dime Magazine have a history of falsely reporting who writes their articles?
    Last edited by Yao Ming's Foot; 03-28-2011 at 03:38 PM.

  13. #13
    Very good NBA starter
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Interesting read, not all that inspiring to me, reads more like a autobiographical piece than an "article", but interesting none the less. Definitely seemed like there's a ton of "I"s, and seems like he kind of says one thing worded many different ways (ie. desire, fuel, hunger, mission, driven, etc). We get it Kobe. Personally, I think he's very much playing for his legacy, and ultimately being famous for it, which he claims not to be distracted by. I respect his respect for the game, though. I respect the fact that he respects and looks up to his coach. Kobe is amazing to watch and he usually tends to give credit where it's due, but I'm not a huge fan of his at all. I am an NBA fan though and he's obviously been a large part of it the last decade or so.

  14. #14
    NBA lottery pick
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    The season where he averaged 35.4 ppg and dropped 81? 62 in three quarters? Got snubbed for MVP?

    Kobe would destroy twitter.

  15. #15
    shhhhhhh
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    Default Re: Article Kobe Bryant wrote in Dime Magazine

    Quote Originally Posted by M.Bustly15A5RU8
    Do you have evidence that he wrote it?
    are you really this stupid?

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