The Black Mamba-lorian turns 32 and how I hunted down Kobe Bryant

Happy Birthday Kobe Bryant, my favorite NBA player slash Bounty Hunter slash cold blooded Assassin!

When Kobe first visited Manila in 1998 as a promising NBA sophomore, my brother and I went to Festival Mall in Alabang where Kobe was supposed to make an appearance at the Adidas store (he was still endorsing "the brand with the 3 stripes" back then). I was collecting NBA cards then and had a solid batch of Kobe Bryant rookie cards waiting to be signed by the newest  rising star of the LA Lakers. Alas, a change in schedule led to the cancellation of Kobe's Festival mall appearance, and together with a sizable number of fans, we went home disappointed and frustrated.

Fast forward 9 years later. Fresh from winning his 4th Championship with the Lakers, Kobe visited Manila again in September 2007. Once more, I missed the opportunity of  seeing the Black Mamba in person. It was already too late when I read the news of Kobe's visit, and I also had work that day.

When I learned that Manila would once again be a stop in KB24's Nike Take Every Advantage Tour, I made sure that I would not strike out on the chance of seeing the planet's best basketbal player in the flesh. Filing a vacation leave on July 13, 2011, I headed over to the Nike Fort in Bonifacio High Street. I didn't mind standing 4 hours under the noon heat just to get a good vantage point of the stage where Kobe was supposed to appear.

Much to my dismay however, a cameraman positioned himself strategically in front of the stage where I was standing, partially obstructing my view. But I would not be denied. I didn't wait 13 years just to be frustrated by an ill placed piece of equipment.

When the moment finally arrived, I jostled to get a decent enough of a view. And there was my reward... The Black Mamba right before me very eyes!

Shake and Stalemate

We take a break from our regular posting for some important updates...

March 21, 2010 6:30 pm
THE SHAKE - I just arrived at the office and was settling down to check on my emails when I noticed my Mcdonald's Stormtrooper and Kobe Bryant Bobble Heads "nodding" on their own.

Earthquake! The tremor lasted for about 6 seconds, and although I tried to stay calm, images of the recent Japan disaster flashed inside my head. Everyone inside the room slowly stood up, we looked at each other, and had the same question in mind: "Did you feel that as well?" Thankfully, the quake that was felt in Metro Manila only registered a magnitude 4 according to the news flash (epicenter was in Mamburao, Mindoro), and we all returned to our business tasks afterwards. I offered a silent prayer of thanks and texted my wife and mom just to check on them and let them know that everything was fine.

THE STALEMATE - Around the same time that the earthquake was felt in Manila, James Younghusband of the Azkals scored on a penalty kick in the 2nd half to put the Philippine football team up 1 goal over host Myanmar in the AFC Challenge Cup group stage.

James Younghusband 

(file photo taken from http://www.happythoughtshappytot.com/2011/03/team-azkals-member-profiles-and-pictures.html)

Myanmar however capitalized on a well placed direct kick off a foul by Simon Greatwich to equalize in the closing seconds of injury time to deny the Azkals the victory and 3 points. The match ended at 1-1. Studio 23 was not able to broadcast the game live due to strict media regulations by the military controlled Myanmar government.

The Azkals will be facing Palestine on March 23 and Bangladesh on March 25. The support of Filipino fans will once again bolster the Azkals' bid to advance to the next round of The AFC Challenge Cup.

One Big Bite! Growl for Goal! Let's Dog it Azkals!

These are not the collections you are looking for...

Whether you're in the Carinderia just hanging out with your bounty hunter posse or hiding from Imperial Troops,  you might want to check out my Star Wars Memorabilia and Kobe Bryant collections.

Kobe Bryant: Jedi, Sith or Mandalorian?

Kobe Bryant, a.k.a. The Black Mamba,  took on all East comers both young upstarts and ageing pretenders, tallying 37 points, 14 boards, 3 dimes and 3 heists to lead the West squad to a 148-143 win in the 2011 edition of the NBA All Star game.

Take that pretender King!

Lookit me...

Where you at, Rajon?

He bagged yet another All Star MVP award, tying Bob Pettit for the NBA record of 4.

Bryant has won All Star MVP awards in Philadelphia 2002...

, Las Vegas 2007...

 and Phoenix 2009 (co-MVP with ex-teammate Shaq)

I will not enumerate Kobe's numerous accomplishments anymore, but even haters would agree that his feats have been extraordinary and out of this world. This beggars the question: If Kobe was a character in the Star Wars universe, would he be a Jedi Master, a Sith Lord or a Mandalorian?

a. Jedi? - Before he became The Black Mamba, an ESPN poll conducted several years ago showed a lot of fans wanting to call him "Kobe Wan Kenobi". This was early in his career, before the "incident" in Colorado, and the moniker sounded good. Kobe showed huge potential as a Laker rookie, winning the Slam Dunk contest and scoring the most points then in an All Star Rookie Game. He was charismatic and had a youthful innocence coming straight from Lower Merion High School.

b. Sith? - As his skills improved exponentially, haters saw a cocky, arrogant ballhog who wanted the seize the limelight from his superstar teammate Shaq. He was seduced by the dark side and thirsted for power, wanting to make the Lakers his own. After winning 3 straight NBA championships , Kobe became "The Dark Lord of the Rings" (yep, I made this one up). Well publicized feuds between  Shaq and Kobe, and the loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals led to downward spiral, with Shaq leaving LA for Miami

c. Mandalorian! - For the SW uninitiated, Mandalorians are the most feared warrior-mercs in Star Wars lore, and dreaded enemies of the Jedi. Boba Fett, the most famous bounty hunter in the galaxy, is also the best known Mandalorian. I'll make another moniker up and call Laker #24 "Kobe Fett: the Black Mamba-lorian". His Colorado episode was his Pit of Carkoon, the lowest point in his life personally and professionally. Yet like Boba Fett, Kobe managed to rise from certain doom and escape the Sarlacc. Throughout his career, he has been known to be a cold-blooded assassin who delivers the killer clutch shots during crucial games. Like Mandalorian armor, Kobe has  shown durability and invincibility, despite the wear and tear of playing 14 years in the league, and numerous injuries to his fingers, body and knees. And at the end of this season, Kobe Fett will again collect his bounty: The Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Darth Bader and Athletes with Star Wars inspired monikers

The Dark Side of the Mouthpiece: Ryan "Darth" Bader (photo from phoenix.fanster.com)

One of the undercards of UFC 126 (featuring Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs Vitor "The Phenom\ Belfort" as the main event) piqued my interest as it pitted two young up and coming fighters, Jon "Bones" Jones and Ryan "Darth" Bader. Now that's a cool crossover between the UFC and Star Wars .

(image from cbssports.com)

Ryan (real name: Ryan DuWayne Bader) was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 finale and had a pristine MMA record of 12-0, racking up impressive wins over Keith Jardine and Antonio "Little Nog" Noguiera) before falling to Bones Jones in their match via 2nd rd guillotine choke. Too bad, I guess the force was not strong  with Darth Bader today. Bones was the same fighter who broke Brandon Vera's cheekbone and I wanted Bader to sort of avenge him.

So, which other athletes have used Star Wars influenced monikers?

I Believe I Can Fly (Samboy Lim before Space Jam)

1. Avelino "Samboy" "The Skywalker" Lim
This Philippine Basketball Association legend mesmerized Pinoy hoop fans in the early 80s with his devil-may-care aerial acrobatics

Kenny Walker (image from hoopedia.nba.com)

2. Kenny "Sky" Walker

His claim to fame was winning the 1989 Slam Dunk contest while he was with the New York Knicks.

DVD Cover of Skywalker: The David Thompson Story (Image from tower.com)

3. David Thompson

Perhaps more deserving of the moniker than Kenny Walker is David Thompson, a Hall of Famer whose career started with the ABA then eventually the NBA where he was a 4 time All Star. He played for the Denver Nuggets and Seattle Supersonics. His Airness Michael Jordan admitted that he looked up to David Thompson as his role model while growing up. Another interesting fact: Thompson was drafted number 1 by both the ABA and the NBA

Lester Hayes (image from fannation.com)

4. Lester Hayes ("The only true Jedi of the NFL")

More popularly known as "The Judge" and "Lester the Molester", Hayes was a big Star Wars fan who anointed himself "the only true Jedi of the NFL" He played for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders as cornerback and was the 1980 NFL Defensive Player of  the Year. He was literally a Force to reckon with.

Black Mamba with a Lightsaber (image from with-malice.com, an LA Lakers blog)

5. Kobe Bryant (Kobe Wan Kenobi)

OK, you might say I made this one up just because I'm a Kobe Bryant fan. But to prove you wrong, early in Kobe's career, Chris Berman of espn.com conducted a poll among readers of The Berman Files to see which nickname was appropriate for Bryant. Interestingly enough, out of 15,500 votes casted, Kobe Wan Kenobi won with 5,586 votes. If you're still skeptical, click on this link: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/bermanfiles/bryantwinner.html

Shaqawookiee? (image from mtv.com)

Just wondering, if Shaq had a SW nickname, what would it be? Remember that dance number he had during the All Star game in Phoenix with the Jabbawockeez? Could it be "Jabba the Shaq?" "Shaqawookiee?"

Your guess is as good as mine.