In case you missed it, NBC tool Chris Collinsworth interviewed Kobe Bryant in Beijing about what it means to wear the Red, White, and Blue and represent his country. Kobe, to his credit, gave a terrific answer. Predictably, Collinsworth revealed how uncool he thinks it is to be patriotic.....Collinsworth: Where does the patriotism come from inside of you? Historically, what is it?
Kobe: Well, you know it’s just our country, it’s… we believe is the greatest country in the world. It has given us so many great opportunities, and it’s just a sense of pride that you have; that you say ‘You know what? Our country is the best!’
Collinsworth: Is that a ‘cool’ thing to say, in this day and age? That you love your country, and that you’re fighting for the red, white and blue? It seems sort of like a day gone by.
Kobe: No, it’s a cool thing for me to say. I feel great about it, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I mean, this is a tremendous honor.
Collinsworth just got owned. I mean Chris may have been playing devil's advocate a little but, still, Kobe slammed the door on him pretty good. Instead of acting like rich pampered superstars, the men's basketball team has shown in Beijing a remarkable and unexpected level of humility and class. When Kobe, Lebron, and the others showed up to watch Michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal, that was really cool of them.
Hat tip to Msunderestimated.
4 comments:
I wouldn't want people to compete in the Olympics who weren't proud to play for our country. The basic principle of the Olympics is nationalistic pride. To go there for any other reason is selfish and hypocritical.
Standard issue olympic athlete = selfish and hypocritical.
I found Kobe Bryant to be engaging and warm. I found him to be a renaisance man of sorts. He speaks 3 languages. He didn't change his demeanor at all. Yesterday he was interviewed with Lebron James by Jim "the Beater" Lampley. Lampley did interview both men, but spent more time with LJ. It didn't seem to phase Kobe a bit.
I used to view him as spoiled, inpudent and childish (when Shaq as traded). I now have a different view of this man. A man who quite possibly could help change the face and direction of young people in this country - singlehandedly.
I hope Kobe wears thr RWB with pride and continues to say and do the right things.
That one weekend that got him into a lot of trouble really seemed to mature him as a man. I am proud to have him play for our country.
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