It's clear to me that he's the subject of more unreasonable scorn and contempt by some here than is warranted by his conduct off the court or his play on the court.
You won't agree with this, but this statement probably applies to Kobe as much as the way you think it describes LeBron.
Quote:
Would you prefer that I refrain from using humor to point out how pathological the dislike has become at times?
I mean, I don't really give an F whether you answer yes or no on the preceding question, but I'm not averse to seeing some more of your particular brand of humor either (even if it's at the expense of my self-esteem).
I don't mind that you've sort of made it your pet responsibility to police whatever "echo chamber" of irrational Kobe homers which you perceive this forum to house...they exist here--naturally, it's a Lakers forum--they've always been transient and most long-time readers know to treat their opinions with a vapid regard. In taking up such a peeve, however, you should know that it's not an avant garde defiance. There are a few of us who've already tried the whole anti-Kobe homer cop thing, for many of whom it's their raison d'etre as posters, and they've built an entire NBA ideology around it. Unfortunately, as numerous as they are, not one of them, including the obviously intelligent ones such as yourself, has ever been good at it, and by not good, I mean not one of them has ever been able to successfully separate, in expression, their derision for Kobe's fanatics from their real distaste for Kobe himself. They sometimes make great points, but it when it comes to debating Kobe's standing against his contemporaries, the ratio of veritable arguments to double-standardized pillockry invariably drops to about 1:2, and it's no mystery as to why the anti-homers don't ever really seem to square up with the perception of objectivity that they wish to portray. After a short while, the disguise of objectivity washes away, any pro-Kobe argument gets categorized into the "echo chamber" and it becomes apparent they're just trying to conceal the fact that they're also homers, with a matching series of biases, merely favoring a different player.
Take, for instance, your supposed contempt for Kobe's "reputation as a whiner" in which you cited (worthless) editorials from places like BleacherReport and AtlantaDailyStar, never mind that Bryant has received a disproportionate amount of unfavorable officiating--this is irrevocable. You take issue with this, fine. But then here comes a deadspin piece that claims to have verified an incident in which your favorite player whined to security about a fan doing what fans usually do in the stands, and suddenly the source is questionable, and you're defending the whiner...?
I will grant you that there's a very certain tilting at windmills aspect here for me, as I ultimately know that successfully forcing a meeting of the minds re: what I see (both in the objective and the subjective senses of the word) and what those who share your view see is highly unlikely. I feel like my views in these matters are nearly inviolate; and it's clear to me that you feel the same way about yours. So both of us are faced with this Sisyphean task of attempting to edify the other (and any like-minded comrades-in-arms) with a dose of contemptuous humor to drive the point(s) home, and time only makes that task all the more taxing ...
As others have pointed out in the past, both Kobe and LeBron have become lightning rods for (sometimes irrational) criticism over the years and that's not going to change. This is true of most superstars of the past, as well. Knowing this truism and having observed the reactions of those here for several years before I began posting, I've made it a practice over these past couple of months to invite those who find my views disagreeable to simply ignore my posts. I don't prefer that approach because it degrades the value and overall impact of a great forum like this one. But I persist nonetheless ...
I've made light of my effort to dismantle the echo chamber at times, but let me take this moment to be clear regarding my personal views on legacy. I view Kobe and LeBron as Top 10 - 15 players of all time, right now. I believe LeBron will very, very likely ascend into the Top 5, while I don't share the view that Kobe will be there to welcome him. These thoughts are mine and they are admittedly complicated by the inevitable challenge of assessing players over time, of course. To whatever extent others disagree with my longitudinal assessment, they always have the option of simply ignoring me or bringing to bear a fusillade of knowledge that will change my assessment. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm as capable of missing the mark as others, so I'll keep the door slightly ajar ...
Finally, I view Kawhi as my favorite player (and it isn't even close between him and second place, in my mind) ... to be blunt, I'm really surprised there's even room for disagreement about this issue of my subjective fandom. The links below should shed some light on my support for Kawhi ...
I can regrettably count on one hand the number of Aztecs that have had a meaningful impact in the association - Michael Cage and now Kawhi ... and I have to hope I'll have three fingers left for Jamaal Franklin, Malik Pope and Zylan Cheatham down the road. That's how meager it is here in San Diego.
Your irrational dislike of Kobe has clouded your judgement if you think LeBron was better than Kobe before Kobe went down.
Perhaps ... but I feel good with my view that Kobe's best argument for recognition as the best player in basketball would be the six year window bracketed by the 2002/2003 and 2007/2008 seasons. That's about as generous as I can get with my assessment ...
That would be reasonable, except that he was actually widely recognized as the best player in basketball after that time window. These sorts of things aren't determined by stats and awards. It's the sense of the NBA community.
There came a time between 2008 and 2012 when Lebron succeeded Kobe as the consensus best player in basketball. It's not clear when that happened. I would say probably the '11 season. Some people around here, like KBCB, would say the '13 season, but I think that would be a minority opinion even on this board.
Your irrational dislike of Kobe has clouded your judgement if you think LeBron was better than Kobe before Kobe went down.
Perhaps ... but I feel good with my view that Kobe's best argument for recognition as the best player in basketball would be the six year window bracketed by the 2002/2003 and 2007/2008 seasons. That's about as generous as I can get with my assessment ...
That would be reasonable, except that he was actually widely recognized as the best player in basketball after that time window. These sorts of things aren't determined by stats and awards. It's the sense of the NBA community.
There came a time between 2008 and 2012 when Lebron succeeded Kobe as the consensus best player in basketball. It's not clear when that happened. I would say probably the '11 season. Some people around here, like KBCB, would say the '13 season, but I think that would be a minority opinion even on this board.
When it comes to the highly-emotional (and often irrational) world of sports fandom, I'm going to decline using hive mind as the ultimate measure of greatness ...
FWIW, I explained my overarching views on this unbridgeable disagreement above.
Kobe was being called and done worse during his colorado period than anything you've ever experienced.
Grow some backbone, son.
lol. that's a legal situation, you dunce. what, do you think most players would be crying to the media in that situation? you stay quiet like your (bleep) lawyers tell you to.
All times are GMT - 8 Hours Goto page Previous1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
