tlongII
05-23-2008, 12:41 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/1211511314303770.xml&coll=7
K obe Bryant is cutthroat, and calculating, and manipulating. Kobe Bryant is selfish, and obnoxiously confident, and narcissistic, too, which is only to say, leave the guy alone, America.
The traits that make you hate Bryant are the same ones that make him the most valuable player in the NBA. So let's get real, and get off Bryant's back. While everyone is miffed at whatever tactic Bryant was using while lying low in the first half of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, it's worth recognizing that some of us are missing the point.
He won his team the game, and unless someone can stop Bryant, he's going to bring the NBA championship back to Los Angeles.
Dislike him if you want. But you have to appreciate him as well.
A few years ago I wrote a column about the men who play for the military academy football teams. The athletes are punctual, and obsessive about their uniforms, and robotic. They can be arrogant and cocksure. And after all that, it is worth noting that you have to appreciate the fact that the same qualities that irritate you in a college football player are exactly what you want in a soldier charged with defending the United States.
Why not cut Bryant the same break?
He's the best individual player in the league and he instills such confidence in his teammates that, down by 20 to the Spurs, you figured the Lakers were one Bryant flurry from being in control.
Bryant scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. And because he attempted to first get his teammates involved, and waited one half to take over the game, he's being criticized and mocked. There's something about all the hate that feels misplaced.
You don't like him, so you don't want to hang out with Bryant. You don't want him marrying your daughter. You don't want to dine with him or debate politics with him or have him coach your child in basketball. But he's paid to play basketball, and currently there's nobody who does that better than Bryant.
We're watching the most dominant player since Michael Jordan. It's worth pointing out that Jordan possessed the same confidence and shrewd drive. Except Jordan smiled more and was likeable, and your kids wanted to wear his sneakers.
As a result, you loved Jordan.
So what do you do with Bryant?
You boo. And you shake your head. And you brag about your hate for him, call him a drama queen and tell anyone who will listen that Bryant's pass-first attitude in the first half was laced with some absurd ulterior motive.
What you leave out is that Bryant wiped all that away in the second half when he willed the Lakers to victory. Reporters who cover Bryant and ask him tough questions will tell you he's unforgiving and vindictive on the court, but it's those same qualities that make him dangerous.
It's not in Bryant's nature to go easy on anyone, and maybe we shouldn't go easy on him, either. But there's something that doesn't feel right about those among us who want to criticize him for his on-court personality when those qualities are exactly why the Lakers lead the series with San Antonio 1-0.
We're always telling our children to find their own identity.
Why do we want Bryant to change his?
John Canzano: 503-294-5065; [email protected] Read his blog at blog.oregonlive.com/ johncanzano Catch him on the radio on The Bald-Faced Truth, 3-6 p.m. weekdays on KXJM (95.5).
K obe Bryant is cutthroat, and calculating, and manipulating. Kobe Bryant is selfish, and obnoxiously confident, and narcissistic, too, which is only to say, leave the guy alone, America.
The traits that make you hate Bryant are the same ones that make him the most valuable player in the NBA. So let's get real, and get off Bryant's back. While everyone is miffed at whatever tactic Bryant was using while lying low in the first half of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, it's worth recognizing that some of us are missing the point.
He won his team the game, and unless someone can stop Bryant, he's going to bring the NBA championship back to Los Angeles.
Dislike him if you want. But you have to appreciate him as well.
A few years ago I wrote a column about the men who play for the military academy football teams. The athletes are punctual, and obsessive about their uniforms, and robotic. They can be arrogant and cocksure. And after all that, it is worth noting that you have to appreciate the fact that the same qualities that irritate you in a college football player are exactly what you want in a soldier charged with defending the United States.
Why not cut Bryant the same break?
He's the best individual player in the league and he instills such confidence in his teammates that, down by 20 to the Spurs, you figured the Lakers were one Bryant flurry from being in control.
Bryant scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. And because he attempted to first get his teammates involved, and waited one half to take over the game, he's being criticized and mocked. There's something about all the hate that feels misplaced.
You don't like him, so you don't want to hang out with Bryant. You don't want him marrying your daughter. You don't want to dine with him or debate politics with him or have him coach your child in basketball. But he's paid to play basketball, and currently there's nobody who does that better than Bryant.
We're watching the most dominant player since Michael Jordan. It's worth pointing out that Jordan possessed the same confidence and shrewd drive. Except Jordan smiled more and was likeable, and your kids wanted to wear his sneakers.
As a result, you loved Jordan.
So what do you do with Bryant?
You boo. And you shake your head. And you brag about your hate for him, call him a drama queen and tell anyone who will listen that Bryant's pass-first attitude in the first half was laced with some absurd ulterior motive.
What you leave out is that Bryant wiped all that away in the second half when he willed the Lakers to victory. Reporters who cover Bryant and ask him tough questions will tell you he's unforgiving and vindictive on the court, but it's those same qualities that make him dangerous.
It's not in Bryant's nature to go easy on anyone, and maybe we shouldn't go easy on him, either. But there's something that doesn't feel right about those among us who want to criticize him for his on-court personality when those qualities are exactly why the Lakers lead the series with San Antonio 1-0.
We're always telling our children to find their own identity.
Why do we want Bryant to change his?
John Canzano: 503-294-5065; [email protected] Read his blog at blog.oregonlive.com/ johncanzano Catch him on the radio on The Bald-Faced Truth, 3-6 p.m. weekdays on KXJM (95.5).