Kobe Does Patriotism

"It has given us so many great opportunities, and it’s just a sense of pride that you have"

by: bob parks | published: 08 17, 2008

Being a Boston Celtics fan, I've not always held L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant in the highest of esteem. Okay, never.

That has all changed. When asked by NBC Sports Keith Olbermann-wannabe Chris Collinsworth about patriotism, Kobe took him to the hoop…

Collinsworth: Tell the story when you first got your USA uniform.

Kobe: Well I had goosebumps and I actually just looked at it for awhile. I just held it there and I laid it across my bed and I just stared at it for a few minutes; just because as a kid growing up this is the ultimate, ultimate in basketball.

Yes, it wasn't about being a Los Angeles Laker. It was a uniform that said USA. Those uniforms ARE the coolest because anyone wearing it represents not just a city or a region, but the greatest nation in the world.

Something Chris Collinsworth doesn't seem to understand.

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.

Slam dunk, Kobe Bryant.

Obviously Collinsworth was trying to press Kobe Bryant into bashing all things "bad" about America. Of being black, Abu Ghraib, the Jena Six, Rodney King, American Idol, white chicks in Denver hotels, George W. Bush, waterboarding, Katrina and New Orleans, Blackwater, Enron, you know the drill.

The problem is Kobe Bryant understands that in America, discipline and excellence leads to awards and priviledges. Priviledges to wear the greatest uniform in the world, whether it be green or red, white and blue. Something a Cincinnati Bengal loser like Chris Collinsworth will never know.

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