"[He’s] like a crazy stalker ex-girlfriend. Every time you tell her you don't want to talk to her, she'll show up at your door again."
Right now I’m watching the Hornets play against the Lakers. I hope the Hornets win because I cannot stand Kobe Bryant.
I personally dislike Kobe because I think he's an asshole and fake and cocky and smug. I firmly believe that Kobe's camaraderie with his teammates is completely fabricated and that Gasol, Bynum and Odom secretly want to chunk a ball at his head when he's not looking (Ron Artest is in love with Kobe though). The way he acts whenever a call doesn't go his way is disgusting. Also, he did this. But I don’t know him on a personal level so this is all based on what I’ve seen of him on TV. I’m definitely a Kobe hater though.
I cannot, however, deny that the man has talent. And, more than that, he has this infectious passion for playing basketball. Watching him play makes me want to go out and play. Have you seen the Spike Lee documentary Kobe Doin' Work? Me neither, but I read an article that briefly outlined his workout regimen.
That fool work out six hours a day, six days a week. And none of that "I'm gonna walk on the treadmill at a low pace" nonsense. Kobe goes hard. And you kow what he eats for dinner every night?
Chicken, brocoli, and rice. Every night for dinner. Every single night. He really wants to be the best. Like, really wants. It consumes him. That's all he thinks about and all he works towards. And that's what it takes, isn't it? To succeed in your chosen field, every moment of your day needs to be geared towards your goal. Or at least a good chunk of every moment of your day. Kobe does that. He has a clearly defined goal, knows exactly what he needs to do to get to it, and then he executes his plan.
There was a recent article on TrueHoop about Tracy McGrady. McGrady, more affectionately known as T-Mac, played for the Rockets from 2004-2010. I've watched him play dozens of times and he's also really, really ridiculously good. I remember one game in particular where he scored thirteen points in thirty seconds.
The article was saying that McGrady has the perfect body for playing basketball. His height, his arm length, his build. Everything about the guy is designed for shooting hoops. He’s got so much God given talent that he doesn't need to work out as hard as Kobe to be good. But because he doesn’t train as hard, his skills have deteriorated. Or rather, because he never developed certain skills that other, less athletic players learn in order to compete, he’s becoming irrelevant due to the fact that he’s growing old and losing his explosiveness. He's currently playing for the Detroit Pistons and, although he's still a competent basketball player, he's no Kobe.
McGrady had more talent, but Kobe wanted it more and because of that desire (and Shaq), Kobe has five championship rings to Tracy's zero.
Not to say that Tracy didn't work hard or that Kobe wasn't naturally skilled to begin with. And want can’t always conquer talent. If I worked on my basketball skills twelve hours a day, everyday for the next five years, I still wouldn't be able to match up with any NBA player, no matter how lazy or out of shape they are.
I'm just trying to think of that burning passion and how it relates to my life and my goals.
You see it in every profession, not just basketball. Kanye has a lyric in one of his songs about making five beats a day for years. My fiction professor at Rice, Tiphanie Yanique, said she would write for six hours everyday for years before she got anything published. There's even that stereotype about the white-collar worker pulling in 80-hour weeks to reach the top. You gotta hustle and grind to make that shine.
Right now, I don't have the motivation that Kobe does. But that might also be because I don't have clear-cut goals. I have vague, fuzzy goals. Goals that have gone a few weeks without shaving. I know I want to be a better writer. And I want to be a better improvisor. And I would like to somehow earn money off of the two. But I'm not sure of how to achieve that. That's a problem that's afflicting me and millions of recent grads around the country.
What do you want out of life?
Oh, I don't know... To be happy?
I don’t know what I want right now. I have an inkling, but I’m not 100% sure what it is I want. Do I want to be publish a 248 page novel and have it reach #4 on the New York Times Best Sellers list? Do I want to be on SNL? Do I want to be able to dunk? I don’t know. But once I figure that out, you better watch out, world, because I’m going to succeed and if I want to succeed, I have to be a crazy stalker ex-girlfriend. And, believe me, once I find out what my goal really is, I’m going to grab my trench coat and binoculars and perch on the big oak tree outside of my goal’s house.
Then I’m going to steal its panties.
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