dear kobe,

i have been a huge supporter of you since the moment you first put
on a laker uniform
i have stood by you and defended you against your detractors
throughout every moment of your professional basketball career
i have always respected your work ethic
your unrelenting desire to give your all night in and night out
and your creative and exciting basketball game......dope!!!
i have sincerely hoped the best for you at every turn
i have also been a laker fan since i was a boy
i am now 44 and i love the lakers the same as when i was 11, but deeper
i am always hoping that they will get better and make good decisions
and tap into the magic at all costs
go lakers

when they resigned you for 6 or 7 more years or whatever it is
i was so happy
kobe bryant! the best player in the game! my favorite!
i listened to people call you arrogant, selfish, and dishonest, only
out for your own glory
i argued with them telling them that they mistook your greatness,
confidence, and burning desire to win for arrogance
and i told them that we were lucky to see a person so dedicated to
their craft playing at such a high level
that you expected others to work hard on their game too
that you were a good guy
and that you were an athlete not a p.r. man, and that lots of other
players put on a smiley generous face but were selfish when the
cameras were down
and i respected your privacy
kobe.......... you have given us laker fans a lot of joy we love you
and respect you

in any event
during my time as a hardcore laker fan
there have been ups and downs
lots of ups!
we had magic johnson!
kareem abdul jabbar!
and you!
and michael cooper one of my favorites! he had a lot of heart!
when things have not gone well for the lakers
it is very difficult for a focused fan like me
arrghhh....... when tim thomas made that three a couple of seasons
ago.............OUCH
someone for whom, no matter whatever else is going on in my life
the lakers have been a constant, something that keeps going on..........
life is great?.....watch the lakers game
getting a divorce?......watch the lakers game
just went to a funeral?.............watch the laker game
depressed and in bed?
just made a million dollars?..........rode a ten foot wave in costa
rica?...............you get it......
it is hard to be a fan when things are not going well
but it is an emotional investment, that, over time, always pays off
never lose hope
and when the winning comes, it is all the more worth it to have been
through the drought
and all us real fans, the ones who stick with the team no matter
what, we know it, and we relate to each other
and it brings us, the community of los angeles together, and it is
beautiful, and transcends all ethnic and economic boundaries

it seems to me that it is harder than ever to build a great
basketball team in the nba
there are so many teams
not to mention so many good ones in the west
ooh how i hoped we could have gotten jason kidd, and ahhhhh, i felt
it when we couldn't get boozer
and now, man i still hope that maybe somehow, just possibly, we could
get kevin garnett
i love that guy, always have, he is a cool cat and has unbelievable game
i hope i hope i hope..........

kobe, you have said that you are a laker fan
that you grew up a laker fan
wow, and you grew up to become the best basketball player in the world
and on the lakers!
and they gave you more money than 99.9.9.9.9.9.9.9.9.9 percent of the
people in the world could ever dream of to do it
what a story of a life!....whoa!

kobe bryant....................we true fans, have lived this story
too.................we know it is not easy to do what you have
done.......

if you leave kobe
if you do you will break our hearts
the ones who have stood by you through thick and thin
the ones who love you
and truly care about you
we all know that things have not gone as well since jerry west left
for whatever the reason is........too many cooks in the
kitchen......it is impossible to measure up to the greatness of jerry
west......
mitch has had a lot of tough breaks too and not a lot too work with
thank god we are rid of that absurd brian grant salary finally
but us fans can only really guess at what is really going on
seems a little confused over there right now though.....

but the bottom line is............
KOBE.........DO NOT TAKE US TRUE FANS FOR GRANTED
we are on your side
we believe in you
we love you
we feel your frustration
and know that it is rooted in the truth
but...............come on man
don't leave us
whatever the front office problems are, that is the negative right
now for you
but we are the positive
who is more important?
we grew up with you
we have been your fans no matter what
you will never have as deep a love anywhere else
not in any other teamcity where they have hated you for your whole
career?!??!?!??????????
i have friends in new york and chicago, serious nba fans
they have been talkin garbage about you forever
they hate you
all of them............
talk about whatever idiot in the laker organization mouthed off to
the press? they all say that stuff about you...all of them!
yeah they will be happy if you go there because you are the greatest
player , but it will not, could not be the truth, their love will be
shallow
US TRUE FANS KNOW THE TRUTH
we do not talk trash about you, havenot
we are here for you
we have been through all of it and stood by you

and that is more important than anything else that you will ever get
anywhere else

don't make ray allen look like nostradamous

don't prove your doubters right

sincerely,

flea