By Dan Golon ‘20

Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, Ara Zobayan.

All nine of these people are being mourned for endlessly in one of the American people’s most tragic reality checks ever.

None, however, have been as sorely missed as the world renowned Kobe Bryant.

Millions upon millions of people have given their tributes to Kobe, including loads of fan mail. The thing is, many of these letters were not just simple condolences.

Tons of the letters were pages long, detailing how Kobe inspired people’s lives and changed them to who they are today. Surprisingly, a lot of these letters weren’t about basketball either. And yet Kobe does all of this without ever knowing the extremely vast majority of them, how?

It wasn’t necessarily always about the talent Kobe has on the court; it was more about the “mamba mentality” he possessed that really inspired his fan base as a whole. You didn’t have to be a basketball player to be motivated by him.

Kobe really proved that hard work is the key to success, and the mamba mentality signifies his mindset towards working for his goals. Simply put, he works as hard as he can, as long as he can, until he reaches it.

Teachers, parents, and entrepreneurs, among many others, wrote to Kobe. They wrote about how he’s the reason they didn’t quit a job, or the reason they didn’t give up on a relationship, and plenty of other day-to-day situations when he inspired them to do better.

This brilliantly represents the impact Kobe had on the public as a whole.

He not only carried with him the mamba mentality though, he was an excellent father, and a successful entrepreneur, once again proving you can do anything with hard work.

Kobe, as well as his beloved daughter Gianna, leave behind his three other daughters Natalia, Bianka, Capri, and his wife Vanessa.

“Heroes get remembered but legends never die.”

Kobe Bryant lives on.