written by Keanu
Keanu: hello falcons and welcome to Off the field, I’m your host Keanu
Derrick: and I’m derrick
Keanu: and today we’ll be talking about the passing of Kobe Bryant. Last sunday man was tough for all of us
Derrick: yes it was
Keanu: I was I was on a bike ride at huntington beach and I was with my aunt and uncle and we pulled over to the side to get some snacks from this little store, so I’m on my phone scrolling on instagram and I see rest in peace Kobe. I’m like no this can’t be real and then I started going on like the main like snapchat, instagram all that and I started seeing more posts of it seeing it was real and as soon as I seen that I started crying
Derrick: Its.. so I was I was with my girlfriend and I was waiting inside of Starbucks and its like soon.. As.. it broke like you know how in starbucks there’s a lot of noise-
Keanu: oh yeah yeah
Derrick: like people talking and stuff
Keanu: yeah
Derrick: this one by the time the news broke the whole place was quite
Keanu: yeah
Derrick: and then it’s crazy because like and my twitter just started going and then instagram and I went I’m like aw man
Keanu: yeah I was I was on my bike still when I was crying you know people were coming up to me and asked me if I was okay and I told them that Kobe died and they couldn’t believe it either. They had to check for themselves and it was just a really tragic day
Derrick: yeah I mean um
Keanu: and then also to hear about his daughter dying too with him that was just.. that was unbelievable to hear
Derrick: yeah that’s thats what really got me
Keanu: yeah
Derrick: about his daughter and I was like, I’m like crap which one?
Keanu: I know
Derrick: and then I seen it was gigi and I was like aw.. man
Keanu: that was his girl
Derrick: yeah
Keanu: the one that was going to continue his legacy and you know that mamba mentality
Derrick: actually she’s.. She’s the one that really he wasn’t really watching basketball or anything. He said she’s the one that got that fire back in him since he retired
Keanu: yeah I bet
Derrick: I was like man and then they show the video, did you see the video of when they were playing at his house when he went up close to his daughter-
Keanu: oh yeah yeah when they were practicing
Derrick: yeah I was like man..
Keanu: there’s a lot of videos I seen man just tribute videos
Derrick: yeah
Keanu: just videos of him joking around with the team and all that uh..
Derrick: and even the women’s Uconn basketball team
Keanu: yeah..
Derrick: did a did a-
Keanu: his daughter was a huge fan-
Derrick: yeah
Keanu: and wanted to play there and actually paid tribute to her. I don’t know if you seen the video on ESPN it was uh.. It was at the Uconn basketball court and they had a number two jersey with flowers and all that
Derrick: yeah yeah that’s the one yeah
Keanu: she she would’ve won a championship with them
Derrick: oh definitely
Keanu: yeah just the way she’s she’s been playing or she was playing
Derrick: did you watch the tnt special that they did?
Keanu: hm.. No
Derrick: it was Jerry West, it was Shaq
Keanu: was that the one they did like yesterday?
Derrick: yeah, yeah no was it yesterday? No it was the day before
Keanu: oh okay a couple days ago
Derrick: yeah it was Jerry West, it was Kenny Smith it was Shaq
Keanu: Yeah I did see shaq crying and also welcome Daniel
Derrick: What’s up Daniel! How you doing?
Daniel: sorry about that I didn’t know you guys were going to well you know it doesn’t matter so
Derrick: yeah What’s your.. Where.. Were talking about where we were when we saw the news about Kobe Bryant
Daniel: oh yeah
Keanu: so you want to tell us where you were when you heard it?
Daniel: uh sure I think the way everybody probably figured it out was probably just at home and then someone on their phone or maybe just looked just like it’s like they see headlines, Kobe Bryant dies. And at first my mom said that she had read that. I was like, that’s probably just some fake headline.
Derrick: Yeah,
Daniel: their are people saying that like, Oh, this person dies this morning, wakes up dead or whatever, never doesn’t wake up. And then it’s like, oh, that was just the media. He comes down. He tweets and he’s like, I’m not dead. I’m alive. And I thought I was the same thing with Kobe. Because you don’t think that out of everybody that he could ever be someone to pass like this, like a sudden, crazy accident as like your mom just up and saying, oh, he’s dead or like, the TMZ said he died.
Keanu: yeah
Daniel: Well, when I did find that I was TMZ that said that I was a little like, questionable I was I was a little more like, oh man TMZ like, their big tabloid, but they wouldn’t say something as bold as Kobe Bryant’s dead unless they were sure.
Derrick: Right. But but also their headquarters is in that area. And that’s where most of their people are, you know. So I mean, I mean, the thing that got to me was that, so I don’t know if you guys saw it, TMZ broke it, But the sheriff department did not tell Kobe’s wife yet.
Daniel: I’m sure nobody knew. I’m sure nobody knew.
Keanu: yeah nobody
Derrick: So so. I mean, as journalists, how do we How do we deal with a situation like that?
Keanu: man I.. I honestly don’t know. I mean at a time like this, it’s very hard to tell that person that you lost loved ones. Yeah, again, I don’t honestly would not know.
Derrick: I think you have to look at it kind of differently. Because when you think about the LA Times, or these major news outlets, The Washington Post and New York Times, they all reported on this, they’re all still reporting on this, but they’re doing it. Their first things didn’t come out until minutes, you know, 15 minutes half an hour after TMC originally broke it,
Keanu: right
Daniel: Well, the reason that it takes them a long time is any one of them could tweet or say like kobe bryant died, according to TMZ. But the thing is that TMZ has hundreds of private contractors as reporters or, you know, cameramen or whatever, and they have TMZ on speed dial because they know that when something happens when we see something happens,
Derrick: you gotta jump on it-
Daniel:jump on it, and and that’s why like, like TMZ. You know, they’re just a different type of media, in a sense that they’re not going to be like, Oh, are we doing good journalism here? Like, do we ask everybody? Do we ask witnesses? Did we? How do we like, are we gonna say who our sources are? How we confirmed it? No, they’re just concerned about let’s get it out there first. So that everybody, we become everybody’s source of this information. And then that’s, that’s their concern. So I think we as journalists, I mean, we just do our job and have to report on these things.
Derrick: Right.
Daniel: But when it comes to them, I mean, their job. The what they’re getting paid for is getting that news first. Getting that exclusive first. So I think it’s a different situation.
Derrick: What is your favorite Kobe Bryant moment?
Keanu: My favorite Kobe Bryant moment.. Probably his last game
Daniel: I was about to say, definitely
Keanu: definitely his last game. You know, just the way he came back he put the team on his back and made those 61 points. That was that was definitely a legend moment
Derrick: How about for you?
Daniel: definitely like his 81 one point game or his last game or his or his championships. Like his later championships I definitely those are ones that I remember watching every single game and just how exhilarating it was to watch Kobe Bryant play. I mean, you’ve heard it hundreds and hundreds of times from people on on social media and public icons and all these things I it was he was such a driven and such an explosive and exciting athlete. And for a while when his era was starting to like go off a little bit, you know, we kind of just had LeBron That let that man who would perform in that in that way, like we, you know, there was Kobe Bryant and then there was LeBron and there was Shaq. And there were all these greats who were playing that made it so exciting to watch at the time. But then oh and Dwayne Wade when Shaq went to the heat and everything like that,
Derrick: Oh, yeah. And, but then like when they all started, they also they get old at the same time. So then Shaq leaves, D-wade leaves everybody leaves. And then it wasn’t as exciting but it is now again, because we’re having more younger players and more people stepping it up and being leaders and all that. But as far as watching Kobe Bryant play, it was always great. And it was always fun for me as a Lakers fan, especially to watch him do great
Derrick: yeah
Daniel: and prove and outperform himself. And that’s just, that’s just like athletically those are my favorite moments of his probably is at 81 point game or his last game, you know, breaking records to leave making record this
Derrick: yeah I think one of the biggest things I think you and I talked about it.
One of us He had the most buzzer beaters.
Keanu: Oh, yeah it was me yeah, yeah, he has 26,
Derrick: 26 buzzer beaters that and the night that he tore his Achilles went to the free throw line- Keanu: oh yeah
Derrick: hit two free throws and walked off the bench.
Keanu: yeah I was actually reading a quote yesterday by Richard Sherman. He I think he tore his Achilles too. And-
Derrick: yeah,
Keanu: when he tore it. He immediately thought of Kobe-
Derrick: I think he actually reached out to Kobe.
Keanu: Yeah. And he said he had to do the same thing walk off the field, just like Kobe did.
Daniel: I remember seeing an old meme of that. When it first happened. I remember seeing it was comparing all these different players and when they got injured, they had to be carried off the court
Daniel: you know, like shoulder shoulder pains, you know, is like,
Keanu: yeah
Derrick: what’s the guy the guy for the Celtics
Keanu: who?
Derrick: from California
Keanu: uh..Rondo
Derrick: not Rondo. Oh man, I forgot his name. He played for the clippers. He’s retired now.
Keanu: hm.. Doesn’t ring doesn’t ring a bell
Derrick: that gets to me
Daniel: What was your point? Go ahead tell me your point
So I mean, that same night he got an injury. They had to use a Wheelchair to take him to the locker room. I think Lebron got hurt that night to remember and he
Daniel: oh.. He had an injury that same night and it was the same fracture.
Derrick: Yeah. And then Kobe, he goes like tore his Achilles walk up towards the free-throw line
Keanu: yeah
Derrick: and then walked off.
I mean, he tried to play after it happened. Like there was a few plays before he got fouled and did those. So I mean, he was and that’s when everyone was like, Oh my gosh, like he’s really hurt. You know, his heel is really bad. And he started limping but then of course, he walks up to the free throw line and takes two shots and That’s just the kind of player he was. And that’s just the kind of person he was you know
Derrick: yeah
Keanu: that Mamba mentality.
Daniel: yeah Definitely
Derrick: it is it is
Daniel: I mean, that’s what people are talking about not just his achievements on the court, but everything that he’s done afterwards
Keanu: yeah
Daniel: and everything that he’s done off the court and
someone in the LA Times, go ahead
Derrick: Paul Pierce
Daniel: Paul Pierce? Oh, yes Paul Pierce from the celtics
Derrick: remember he got hurt they had to take him-
Keanu: Oh, yeah yeah,
Derrick: take him you know, in the wheelchair.
Keanu: Yeah. I remember that.
Derrick: Yeah.
Keanu: And, you know, after he after Kobe died, there has been countless of high school players tributing to him, where I just I just seen two yesterday. One kid had 81 points that game, just like Kobe did. And I seen a video of a kid from high schools. I think it was down in the East
Wearing a number 24 Jersey
Derrick: hit the buzzer beater
Keanu: hit the buzzer beater
Daniel: I saw that
Derrick: I saw that I was like oh! Did you seeLeBron James son wore number 24 Last night. Keanu: Did he? Bronny?
Derrick: Yeah
Keanu: Yeah and actually LeBron was there last night-
Derrick: Yeah, he was
Keanu: at his son’s game.
Derrick: Yeah
Keanu: because the Lakers clippers game got postponed.
Derrick: So we’re going to leave with one of Kobe Bryant’s quotes. “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do”- Kobe Bryant
Keanu: Yeah, I think he the legacy he’s leaving behind everybody’s going to fulfill that.
Derrick: Yeah
Keanu: You know, whether older adults, little kids, us, I think in anything we do. We’re gonna try and fulfill that legacy. All right, Falcons. That’s it for off the field. I’m your host Keanu.
Derrick: I’m Derek.
Daniel: I’m Daniel.
Keanu: And we’ll see y’all next week.
