Even in victory, Kobe Bryant can't win.
In the days immediately following the Los Angeles Lakers' clinching of the 2008-09 NBA championship, two columnists were all to eager to try to undermine their accomplishments.
One writer said he couldn't be happy for the Lakers because winning does not make unlikable athletes likable. This is the same writer that gets paid to bash the Lakers if he so chooses, and he chooses often enough.
Another writer complained that L.A.'s post-championship celebration didn't appear genuine because he didn't think Bryant's teammates truly like him. This from an admitted Boston Celtics fan.
Yeah, and Kevin Garnett's "Anything Is Possible!" roar in the postgame celebration of last year's Boston title was completely spontaneous and had nothing to do with adidas' slogan, "Impossible Is Nothing."
Purely coincidental.
Ever since the Lakers flamed out in the 2004 Finals against the Detroit Pistons, bringing about the departures of Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson, Bryant has been the most scrutinized athlete on the planet.
Let me say that I, too, was none too pleased with Bryant's attitude during that fateful '04 season. That was the same season that Bryant faced rape allegations (the case was dropped when the plaintiff refused to testify and the two parties settled a civil suit with a financial arrangement).
I remember Kobe being asked whether he had apologized to his teammates for causing a distraction during the season, and he replied something to the effect that his teammates had nothing to do with his legal matters and therefore he didn't need to say anything to them.
Since then, he's worked as hard off the court to repair his image as he works on the court to improve his game. Is it genuine? I doubt it. I do believe he has learned because at least now he's saying all the right things -- something he didn't do as recent as two years ago when he was contemplating leaving L.A.
But how many athletes are genuine? Manny Ramirez? Alex Rodriguez? Brett Farve?
LeBron James walked off the court after the Eastern Conference Finals, didn't shake any Magic player's hands and got a pass by several media members for his poor sportsmanship.
Michael Jordan? Obviously, he's more charismatic than Kobe (probably because he didn't spend a large part of his childhood in another country learning another culture like Bryant), but do any of us really know the real Mike? If we did, I also doubt any of us would want to "Be Like Mike."
Heck, even Derek Fisher showed me a dark side when he decided to clothesline Houston's Luis Scola in the conference semifinals. And he's supposed to be one of the game's good guys!
To me, all professional athletes could be taken with a grain of salt. First, they obviously have a rare talent that allows them special societal treatment from the moment that talent is spotted when they're young.
Then, as they become professional athletes (sometimes collegiate athletes), they are paid money that goes beyond the common man's comprehension that they're sense of reality has to become warped. Money can fix a lot of things.
So why is it Kobe gets singled out so often? He's no saint, but is he that much worse than a typical professional athlete?
Has he ever said he couldn't sign a multi-million dollar contract because it wasn't enough to feed his family (hello, Latrell Sprewell)?
Or, "We make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money." Thank you, Patrick Ewing.
OK. Even on the court, I don't think he'll approach Jordan. He still tries to do too much -- although he's not nearly as bad as he was a few years ago. His supporting cast is better than Jordan's (don't tell me about Scottie Pippen -- would Pippen have been named as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players if he didn't play with Jordan? And why couldn't he get a talented Portland Trail Blazers team to the Finals?)
But the bottom line is, he led the Lakers to a title. Without Shaq. He has four rings.
Don't worrry. Be happy.
True Laker fans are.
I've said a lot of negative things about Lamar Odom on some of my previous blogs. If he ever read them, I don't think I'd find him likable, either.
And the Lakers' postgame celebration was plenty genuine. How do you fake happiness in winning a world championship?
Kobe's job is to entertain us on the court. Even if he new image is an act, like I said, he's now saying the right things, publicly. That should be good enough.
Leave the walking-on-water expectations for Jesus.
