GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
Why wait? KG said anything is possible? Now I say why wait? Why wait to tell someone you love them, why wait until a player retires or dies until we appreciate them? Do it now.
Why were so many people affected by the death of Kobe Bryant? Easy to say - emotional attachment. Whether we have an actual attachment to that NBA city or team or player, every time we watch them play we start to build those neural pathways. Win or lose, after watching every play and every game the strength of those connections in the brain that the electrical impulses run along get stronger. Missed shot. Ooooooh. Lost game. Aaaaaah. Win a game. Woooooow. Over and over. These pathways are real. Your brain makes this person part of you. That's why the emotion comes to the surface when someone dies, especially so young and sudden. It was like we knew them in the real world!. Our brain knew them for sure and we were for a moment, a part of that collective basketball world. We battled with or against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Everyone dies. Everything ends. We know this. And every time, it's still hard. Every time. Why wait?????
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I was a teenager in the 1990’s. I got to play and watch basketball in the 1990’s. So good. I didn’t appreciate it enough. Maybe some people liked the 80’s or 00’s or whenever. But man the 90’s were great. Way over here in Australia it felt like I was a part of something huge, what would it have been like living in America at that time? In Australia we made do with delayed games, daily newspaper box scores and game recaps, One on One magazine, Beckett, Card Crazy magazine, Pro Basketball today and staying up late for five minutes of Sports Tonight highlights. You could however, walk into any Newsagent and grab some Collector’s Choice, Hoops, Topps or Skybox and open packs right there on the street or at the mall! Now is great too, it’s hard to beat watching a live game on a giant TV then going onto Twitter or Instagram and seeing those actual players talking sh*t to each other, or the refs!
In the 1990’s a young player caught my eye. Kevin Garnett. Was it the underdog status? Was it the confidence? Maybe it was the huge wingspan, playing defense fiercely or the huge strides down the court that could just as quick end in a smooth jump shot or a pretty fade away. I don’t think the trash talking and exuberant sweat-dripping game play had become prominent yet, he had to battle his way into the starting lineup, and then try and get a TV game shown with that young Minnesota squad. Maybe it was just a coincidence that we were about the same age and I just identified with some of the issues of growing up in that era. Whatever it was, I became a fan. For life.
In the 90’s I hated Kobe Bryant. Not sure why exactly. Maybe I thought he appeared disrespectful? Maybe he was TOO confident? That didn’t make sense because that’s what drew me TO Garnett. Maybe it was media portrayal – he forced out Shaq – I loved Shaq. I know he was a great player. I didn’t care. I didn’t respect that. I wanted old Jordan to destroy this youngster. And my guy was Kevin fu$k!ng Garnett.
Kobe and KG’s paths didn’t seem to cross that much. A couple of good battles between the Timberwolves and Lakers but they didn’t guard each other much, and it usually ended with a Lakers win. Actually maybe that’s why I didn’t like Kobe – I HATE losing. I was so pissed off that my local NBL team lost the finals years back that I had the next day off work – I’m an idiot! Thank you old boss for not firing me! Ha!
The All Star game provided a chance to play together of course, and then they met a lot in the Lakers v Celtics era in the late 00’s. I never knew there was a deeper connection. KG wanted to play with Kobe but ultimately had to make the decision to go to Boston. Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise – very similar aspects to their personalities and games. And they had some chemistry too, you could see it in the All Star games. Oh, what might have been!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfLeTDaYL64
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6aFg_TZeg
When KG retired in 2016 I thought whoa, we are all getting old. We are all mortal. Kobe and Dirk retired that same year. Basketball was changing. All our lives were different. I don’t get to see these guys play any more. I had wanted to get to Minnesota to see KG play before he retired. Some things don’t work out like you planned. Waking up to the news that Kobe had died in a helicopter crash was jarring. What?!? He had just spent most of his life committed to the game of basketball, had sacrificed so much. He had earned this time after basketball. I had seen the Dear Basketball short film. I had listened to The Punies podcasts. I had seen him at the games with his family and was starting to warm up to him a bit. And I had seen the free throws after the achilles injury and the final game against Utah. How could you not be starting to like this dude? This was a cold bucket of water in the face to millions and millions of people around the world. What a sobering time this has been since.
Along with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, Kobe should be walking up those steps this year to give a speech upon being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. On February 7th, he and his daughter were buried. Life is not fair, no. Life is a privilege. The older I get the more I appreciate things. That’s not how it should be, but with age comes wisdom. Now I know why I used to look around at all these happy old people and wonder why they were happy. I’m like “why you lookin so happy, you old as sh1t?!” Now I know why. It’s an absolute privilege to grow old. Sometimes I don’t know how I got this far all the stupid stuff I’ve done. But I’ve made it to 40. I’d like to make it to 60, I’d love to make it to 80. I have so much to give and share. Kobe had so much more to do. And now others, rocked back into reality on that foggy morning in California, have newly focused purpose and appreciation for the gift of life, they will go on to achieve great things. Let’s all love the game but remember, it’s just a game. The real world is real life. Appreciate things that matter.
I’m excited to continue to watch basketball and see what the next generation does. I’m excited to see what KG does after basketball – Uncut Gems is only the beginning legend. I’m excited that my kids are now starting to appreciate sports and in particular basketball. Getting off the technology addiction is a real struggle for this generation. Getting them out to play sports is important. My eldest got to see Aaron Brooks for a few games while with the Illawarra Hawks, and now she is a super fan. They were unfortunately his last games it seems, but now she gets to go back and look through his whole NBA career and collect stuff she wants.
I was out for a while, no urge to collect or buy anything. But now I'm back. I'll be adding some stuff to put away for good this year. It will likely be added in this thread. Nothing here for sale or trade. Pick up anything cool though feel free to add in here or post any other KG stories or 90's or cards, whatever!
Cheers
Matt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Garnett
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/garneke01.html
https://stats.nba.com/player/708/career/
Why were so many people affected by the death of Kobe Bryant? Easy to say - emotional attachment. Whether we have an actual attachment to that NBA city or team or player, every time we watch them play we start to build those neural pathways. Win or lose, after watching every play and every game the strength of those connections in the brain that the electrical impulses run along get stronger. Missed shot. Ooooooh. Lost game. Aaaaaah. Win a game. Woooooow. Over and over. These pathways are real. Your brain makes this person part of you. That's why the emotion comes to the surface when someone dies, especially so young and sudden. It was like we knew them in the real world!. Our brain knew them for sure and we were for a moment, a part of that collective basketball world. We battled with or against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Everyone dies. Everything ends. We know this. And every time, it's still hard. Every time. Why wait?????
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was a teenager in the 1990’s. I got to play and watch basketball in the 1990’s. So good. I didn’t appreciate it enough. Maybe some people liked the 80’s or 00’s or whenever. But man the 90’s were great. Way over here in Australia it felt like I was a part of something huge, what would it have been like living in America at that time? In Australia we made do with delayed games, daily newspaper box scores and game recaps, One on One magazine, Beckett, Card Crazy magazine, Pro Basketball today and staying up late for five minutes of Sports Tonight highlights. You could however, walk into any Newsagent and grab some Collector’s Choice, Hoops, Topps or Skybox and open packs right there on the street or at the mall! Now is great too, it’s hard to beat watching a live game on a giant TV then going onto Twitter or Instagram and seeing those actual players talking sh*t to each other, or the refs!
In the 1990’s a young player caught my eye. Kevin Garnett. Was it the underdog status? Was it the confidence? Maybe it was the huge wingspan, playing defense fiercely or the huge strides down the court that could just as quick end in a smooth jump shot or a pretty fade away. I don’t think the trash talking and exuberant sweat-dripping game play had become prominent yet, he had to battle his way into the starting lineup, and then try and get a TV game shown with that young Minnesota squad. Maybe it was just a coincidence that we were about the same age and I just identified with some of the issues of growing up in that era. Whatever it was, I became a fan. For life.
In the 90’s I hated Kobe Bryant. Not sure why exactly. Maybe I thought he appeared disrespectful? Maybe he was TOO confident? That didn’t make sense because that’s what drew me TO Garnett. Maybe it was media portrayal – he forced out Shaq – I loved Shaq. I know he was a great player. I didn’t care. I didn’t respect that. I wanted old Jordan to destroy this youngster. And my guy was Kevin fu$k!ng Garnett.
Kobe and KG’s paths didn’t seem to cross that much. A couple of good battles between the Timberwolves and Lakers but they didn’t guard each other much, and it usually ended with a Lakers win. Actually maybe that’s why I didn’t like Kobe – I HATE losing. I was so pissed off that my local NBL team lost the finals years back that I had the next day off work – I’m an idiot! Thank you old boss for not firing me! Ha!
The All Star game provided a chance to play together of course, and then they met a lot in the Lakers v Celtics era in the late 00’s. I never knew there was a deeper connection. KG wanted to play with Kobe but ultimately had to make the decision to go to Boston. Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise – very similar aspects to their personalities and games. And they had some chemistry too, you could see it in the All Star games. Oh, what might have been!
When KG retired in 2016 I thought whoa, we are all getting old. We are all mortal. Kobe and Dirk retired that same year. Basketball was changing. All our lives were different. I don’t get to see these guys play any more. I had wanted to get to Minnesota to see KG play before he retired. Some things don’t work out like you planned. Waking up to the news that Kobe had died in a helicopter crash was jarring. What?!? He had just spent most of his life committed to the game of basketball, had sacrificed so much. He had earned this time after basketball. I had seen the Dear Basketball short film. I had listened to The Punies podcasts. I had seen him at the games with his family and was starting to warm up to him a bit. And I had seen the free throws after the achilles injury and the final game against Utah. How could you not be starting to like this dude? This was a cold bucket of water in the face to millions and millions of people around the world. What a sobering time this has been since.
Along with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, Kobe should be walking up those steps this year to give a speech upon being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. On February 7th, he and his daughter were buried. Life is not fair, no. Life is a privilege. The older I get the more I appreciate things. That’s not how it should be, but with age comes wisdom. Now I know why I used to look around at all these happy old people and wonder why they were happy. I’m like “why you lookin so happy, you old as sh1t?!” Now I know why. It’s an absolute privilege to grow old. Sometimes I don’t know how I got this far all the stupid stuff I’ve done. But I’ve made it to 40. I’d like to make it to 60, I’d love to make it to 80. I have so much to give and share. Kobe had so much more to do. And now others, rocked back into reality on that foggy morning in California, have newly focused purpose and appreciation for the gift of life, they will go on to achieve great things. Let’s all love the game but remember, it’s just a game. The real world is real life. Appreciate things that matter.
I’m excited to continue to watch basketball and see what the next generation does. I’m excited to see what KG does after basketball – Uncut Gems is only the beginning legend. I’m excited that my kids are now starting to appreciate sports and in particular basketball. Getting off the technology addiction is a real struggle for this generation. Getting them out to play sports is important. My eldest got to see Aaron Brooks for a few games while with the Illawarra Hawks, and now she is a super fan. They were unfortunately his last games it seems, but now she gets to go back and look through his whole NBA career and collect stuff she wants.
I was out for a while, no urge to collect or buy anything. But now I'm back. I'll be adding some stuff to put away for good this year. It will likely be added in this thread. Nothing here for sale or trade. Pick up anything cool though feel free to add in here or post any other KG stories or 90's or cards, whatever!
Cheers
Matt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Garnett
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/garneke01.html
https://stats.nba.com/player/708/career/
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) as above with Tony it was a sad day to see the time when things became for sale. Although I do remember picking up that MJ RC off you around that time. unfortunately that card is no longer with me but I believe it still resides in Australia somewhere. 
