Yesterday, I wrote about Kobe Bryant.
It was out of character, as Kobe was one of my least favorite athletes.
Having grown up in the Michael Jordan era, watching Kobe try so hard to emulate his idol was hard to take.
I get that KB was über-competitive too, and it worked, as he ultimately won 5 NBA Championships, and is remembered as an all-time great.
Kobe’s “Mamba Mentality” outlived him, as evidenced by the Etsy poster I shared yesterday.
Idols who die young are often turned into symbols.
Like Bruce Lee. Marilyn Monroe. Kurt Cobain. Janis Joplin. Or Biggie Smalls. Tupac too. John Lennon.
You know the drill.
So now Kobe is remembered, and revered, but few people talk about what brought him down: The Helicopter Lifestyle.
I’ve been following sports, (or sport, as the English say,) my entire life.
And I never heard of another athlete who commuted exclusively by helicopter.
The idea alone made Kobe an outlier, much less the execution.
Few people discuss that when his copter crashed in 2020, Kobe took his daughter, and some friends and neighbors down with him.
The idea of living within driving distance of your job, and your activities, dominates everyone else.
Yet Kobe flew too close to the sun, (literally,) and it killed him.
Not to speak ill of the dead, but Kobe was known for arrogance, and also for ratting out Shaq, when KB was accused of alleged rape near Vail.
Kobe Bryant lived like a man who was never told no.
Who never faced failure.
As opposed to the other athlete we’ll discuss today.
Daniel Jones. (AKA Danny Dimes.)
Rarely, in a lifetime of watching sports, do I remember a player who was never really given the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe there was a week or so, (when his nickname came out,) when fans were excited, but from the moment Dave Gettleman drafted Danny Dimes, everyone gave him shit.
Seems like DJ grew up with privilege, in Charlotte NC, before going to Duke, just East of his home turf.
I also went to Duke, and can assure you, the starting QB there lives a sweet life.
The team wasn’t great, but he did well enough to make it to the 1st round.
Then the wheels fell off the bus.
And a young man who perhaps didn’t face much adversity, was then thrust into a 3 year shit storm.
Doubted at every turn.
Beaten up. Physically. Mentally.
It’s all out there.
Things were awful for Daniel Jones, and the world made fun of him every day.
Still, he persevered.
A big white guy getting $160 million is not the kind of news that will typically hook the bougie/hipster folks who read this blog.
(Though I was chastised for the phrase “Republican Assholes” yesterday, so not all of you are of the same demo.)
I get that much of this audience doesn’t care about sports.
Can I help you?
Yesterday’s blog was all about personal growth and development. With professional sports, we have the opportunity to watch other people grow, in real time.
We acquire role models for what can happen when a person puts their/her/his head down, acquires new skills, and refuses to give up.
It happens all the time, in sports, and at the moment, my favorite teams, The NY Giants, Arsenal, and the Brooklyn Nets are fortunate to have such players, and coaches.
The Good-Guy era is fun, as I’m over watching assholes like Jose Mourinho and Bill Belichick win things, again and again, while displaying awful personalities, and questionable ethics.
Daniel Jones threw for 5 touchdowns once, and 4 twice, in his rookie year, but still, people say he has a bad arm.
He used to fumble a lot, and throw interceptions, but he learned how not to do that.
Just last year, the Giants chose not to extend his contract, (which will cost them A LOT of extra money for this season,) because they used his growth mentality to their advantage.
It provided extra motivation, for a certain type of person.
Because people can develop.
They can grow.
It’s why I was so impressed with Noam Chomsky’s OP ed in the NYT today.
Learning and context, he said, define humanity.
Otherwise, it’s all just noise.
Sunshine and Olly 
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