Kobe Bryat has spoken fondly of his childhood days in Italy (in Italian, no less) while his dad, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant was playing pro ball there. He says the passion of Italy has always stuck with him.
Here is a brief glimpse of Kobe on the sideline as a child (via Lakers Nation) taking in the sights and sounds as his dad warms up for the game. On the surface, the video itself is nothing special. It’s some guys running around and Kobe sitting there chewing gum.
But when you think about the moment itself… when you think about how somewhere in those few seconds something that Kobe probably doesn’t even remember today rooted itself in his subconcious to make him what he is… it makes this video damn near priceless. It’s almost like a sonagram of a child in the first trimester. It’s that sight of something that you know will become something special in the not-too-distant future.
I don’t want to get too dramatic with this. I just love that idea that nearly 30 years ago he was just this kid watching his father play in a foreign country, but somewhere in this moment lie the beginnings of a superstar. This is part of what made Kobe Bryant “Kobe”.
If you let your imagination fall into that moment a little, you’ll see what I mean.
