By Allen Woods, CoFounder & Managing Partner
February 4, 2020
Let’s be clear: I have NEVER been a Kobe fan. “How is that even possible?” Yeah, I know, I know… I have a surplus of unpopular opinions, and that may just be one of the most beautiful parts about the uniqueness that we each have the potential of carrying around with us each day.
I recently went to Los Angeles as a part of my Echoing Green fellowship, and I ended up at a Lakers game – mostly to watch Lebron ball out up close. (Did I mention that I also have a healthy disdain for the Lakers?) At some point in the game, as the arena camera was shifting from fan kiss cams, to silly dances, it stopped on a familiar face: Kobe Bryant. He stood, flashed an enormously gracious smile, and waved at the crowd now offering up a standing ovation. I clapped. I didn’t stand – but I clapped. (Am I a hater?) Thinking back, I was honestly mesmerized by this moment because of the love, the care, and the obvious impact this man had on that city.
I now understand that his reach was MUCH wider than that city… it was the world. Earlier this week, the world lost Kobe. Today, I am clapping AND standing with the rest of the crowd. I salute his legacy, not really as a basketball player, but as a flawed husband, #GirlDad, entrepreneur & investor. When we are born we have a date. When we die we have a date. Both of these dates matter, but what matters MOST is what we do in the space between. What are you doing that will make a difference in other people’s lives? What will your legacy be?
@justcallmeallen & MORTAR salutes Kobe Bryant and the powerful legacy that he left behind. #Forever24 Click To Tweet
