Rumor has it that Kobe had an affair with a Laker girl. thedirty broke it, and now Kobe's lawyers are trying to squash it out. The girl in question recently left the squad, and her picture was purged from the lakergirl site.
Well put. It's amazing how everyone forgets those things about MJ. And they bring up the cheating on the wife thing with kobe...yet nobody brings up that MJ did the same... or the gambling accusations. The differense as you said, is Kobe doesnt hide it and Jordan along with Nike did everything in their power to squelch the negative reports to keep the "IMAGE" alive. It's time to put all the drama, off court BS, personality issues aside and enjoy watching one the most talented competitors ever to play the game.
Some people are never going to forget the Colorado incident, and I'm one of them. His dubious public statement afterwards (no doubt part of a settlement) was what did it for me.
i disagree. kobe didnt get what he wanted when it was offseason. it turned out that he already had what he wanted: bynum. bynum's development is what bryant needed and what he got. kobe's lakers led the western conference almost midway through the season with the help of bynum. but when bynum went down with an injury, the lakers started to get shaky which led to the gasol trade. but before that trade, kobe never whined (to the public), and demanded his dad for new toys.
Since seeing this thread pop up I've pondered this topic a bit. There is something to it. I don't like Kobe Bryant. Yet, before the season, when he was demanding a trade and people were discussing the possibility of a Kobe for T-Mac trade, I acknowledged that Kobe is the superior talent but said something along the lines of "I hope to god this trade is as unlikely as I think it is, because Kobe Bryant is probably the one player in the league I hate enough that I would actually stop watching the Rockets if they attained him." Well, I still don't like Kobe Bryant, but I no longer hate him so much I'd stop watching the Rockets if they traded for him. In fact, I wish to god they did. I don't know how to feel about this realization.
maybe a little, but then again people hop on any bandwagon they can. last year this time it was lebron they were all over.
Guess people will believe anything and everything on the internet. .. Does anyone have an actual reliable source? I've been waiting for it for almost a week now and there isn't any.. Just like the Kobe divorce rumors and the Wade and Star Jones affair rumors this is 100% false.
Agreed.. Kobe is the exact same person except the media is now painting him into a positive light since he's in a winning situation.
If Kobe wasn't winning right now he would be whining and crying like he always has in the past -- I can't believe people are so easily fooled.
Ditto. Question....when folks say Kobe is an butthole, why does his fanclub always say "look at the horrible things MJ did". So what, because MJ was a butt it's cool for Kobe to be one too?
I think the point is that people seem to be way harder on Kobe than they were on MJ despite the fact they're both assholes of a similar caliber. It is kind of weird. I just don't remember people hating MJ like they do Kobe. I think MJ got treated a lot more like Lebron. Sure, there were haters, but most basketball fans worship him.
Bingo. Not to say I'm a great reader of people, but there are some obvious instances of when people talk who are usually sincere and who's generally putting up an act. I'm not just talking about celebs, I'm sure you can name at least one or two people you know personally who's always putting up a front. Kobe comes off that way in interviews, totally insincere. I could be wrong. But his actions are pretty clear. The second there's a bump in the road you hear him moaning to the media. Less than a year ago he hated his teammates and the LA organization. Believe me, there will be another instance where Kobe will blow up and moan and groan because he's impatient. As for Kobe being out in the open and Jordan hiding stuff...Kobe didn't reveal his dirty closet. The open and immediate media of today made it more readily available than Jordan's time.
I've never liked Jordan, ever since his NC days. He always comes off as an arrogant ***. IIRC he's the first to refer to his teammates as his "supporting cast" as if they existed for the sole purpose of supporting him. But people still worship him because of his greatness as a basketball player. Heck, people worship Kobe for the same reason. Look at so many posters here do that. But Kobe was more "hateable" because he has all the snobbishness of Jordan plus at least one more thing: fakeness. I think his overwhelming desire to be "like Mike" makes him look so phony. That's not his fault that he came after Jordan. I mean, if Jordan never existed, he would have been worshiped like Jordan was in his prime. Also, the media in Jordan's days were not as unforgiving as they are now. So Kobe does get screwed by the media to some degree, which Jordan didn't have to deal with. Maybe that's just me. I always want to root against the big egos, and want to root for the humble and the underdog. I don't agree with people who say that you HAVE TO enjoy watching Kobe if you are a true basketball fan. Being a basketball fan include the emotions of rooting for the "good guy." If I just wanted to watch some fantastic athletic abilities, I'd go watch the movie Matrix.
I'm not just talking about fan forums. I'm talking about the media. I'm talking about just talking basketball with people when I travel around the country. Remember how many people were wearing Bulls hats and jerseys? Remember how "Michael Jordan" actually became the most popular combination of first and middle names for boys born in the U.S. at one point? Imagine somebody naming their kid Kobe Bryant. How many people do you know who are Lakers fans just because of Kobe? It's just not comparable.
Never liked Kobe until now. He seems more relaxed and comfortable now. Is it an act? Quite possibly but as some of you have mentioned MJ seems as if he was a complete jerk. I saw a sort of round table discussion comprised of few athletes years back. Two of the guys were Roy Jones Jr. and the other was MJ. I remember RJJ repeatedly talking about how much he idolized Jordan and all Jordan did the entire time was ridicule and belittle Roy. That's when I was positive that Jordan is a complete d!ck. He's the still the GOAT though. I find myself rooting for Kobe right now because what he does on the court is amazing. If I chose my favorite athletes by whether or not I would like to have a beer with them then Paul Shirley would be the guy but I sure as hell don't want to watch a team of a bunch of Shirleys. This almost reminds me of the legion of morons who voted for a certain President twice and their reason was summed up as "he seems like the type of guy you could go have beer with." Brilliant.
Just read Shirley's book, and in it, he said that Kobe is one of his least favorite players he's ever played with. Said Kobe had a security team at training camp that reminded him of the secret service.
