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Honor Kobe — and Raise a Fist for All Our Hometown Sports Heroes
Growing up in the Bay, Beast Mode was my Mamba Mentality, and it made me who I am
First and goal
With the recent tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, I’ve been reflecting on the role of influential athletes in my life, beyond their performances on the court or the field. Although my brother and I traded cards for Kobe Bryant and emulated his moves on playgrounds during recess, I admit I never idolized him to the degree others did. Growing up in Northern California as I did, I never adopted his Mamba Mentality. But I had something similar.
I had Beast Mode.
For me, no player in sports history has more directly influenced my journey and no athlete’s game more authentically represents the heart of the Bay Area — specifically Oakland — than Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn is my Kobe. Our Kobe.
I’m not comparing these two men as equals, and I’m not trying to diminish Kobe’s legacy in any way; I honor his influence on many of my closest friends and in communities worldwide, especially L.A. His death is a reminder of the beautiful relationship between players and fans, and how their lives and careers often reflect our own.
But I grew up watching Marshawn the way many people grew up with Kobe. In unique ways, they’ve impacted countless fans, and represent what it means to be your best self in every context — icons who deserve recognition.
Second and goal
After struggling to graduate high school with the minimum requirements, I enrolled in community college, where my journey as a writer and educator began. I was raised by immigrant parents; the traditional pathway to college wasn’t paved for me. So why and how did I end up at UC Berkeley — a notoriously difficult school to get into — as a senior who had previously flunked eighth grade?
One reason: Marshawn’s stiff arm.
As a teen, I witnessed Beast Mode violently rearrange the angles of some poor defender’s neck bone when he started at the University of California, just a freeway’s drive from where I grew up in the South Bay, and it’s an image that will forever…
