By Christian Moya & Dennis Erturk
Staff Writers
On Jan. 26, one of the most decorated athletes of our time, Kobe Bryant, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, and seven other victims. The seven other victims include John Altobelli, 56, his wife Keri Altobelli, 46, their daughter Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Christina Mauser, 38; Sarah Chester, 45, her daughter Payton Chester, 13; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50. Although Bryant’s legacy has spoken volumes, the other innocent victims’ lives were stripped away also. This tragedy has left the entire world mourning. Cal Poly Pomona students share what kind of an impact the devastation has had on their lives and what it meant beyond basketball.
“I started watching Kobe since as long as I can remember. I just loved how he had that fire passion to never give up. Even if the team was down, he still pushed his team to keep going, and I just carry that mentality throughout everyday life. Keep pushing forward, even if things are tough, just keep going. Even on and off the court, he never gave up on anything. He became an entrepreneur and kept pushing the limits. He thought the impossible was possible. My dream is to keep doing whatever he wanted. I’ll keep doing it. That’s what Kobe Bryant means to me.”
“It’s kind of crazy because I grew up watching Kobe, so he kind of helped me get into the sport. Since I had a background as a kid playing basketball, in high school playing basketball, he was an inspiration to me. Lakers are my favorite team and everything. Also, he kind of felt larger than life. He was a whole inspiration. Especially at inspiring you to be greater than what you are and to try and push yourself even past what you think you can do. I can’t believe he’s gone, prayers for his family. He’ll always be somebody to look toward to help you reach your full potential.”
“Third grade, that’s when I started watching basketball. My teacher, whenever the Lakers won, would assign no homework. I started watching basketball because if the Lakers would win, no homework, incentive. Then I started watching Kobe. I started going onto YouTube and watching all of his highlights and his top 10 plays. Over time, I just started to get attached. I went to a couple Lakers games. I was able to watch him during his final season and I was able to watch his last game too. I never saw my school wearing that much purple and gold until that day. Everyone was wearing their Kobe jerseys and it was just really special. Everyone was talking about him. Even people who didn’t talk about sports. It was just a tragedy hearing about him. I cried a couple of times.”
“Kobe affected my life in many ways on and off the court. His ‘Mamba Mentality’ is what I resonate the most with, both as an athlete and as a person. He instilled in me, very young, that if you want anything, you must work tirelessly at it. He encouraged me to spend early mornings and late nights in the gym because I wanted to be great at something. He never gave excuses and continued to perfect his craft as if he was not arguably the best player to ever touch a basketball. He taught me to use less words and more action, which is something I try to live by in everything I do. His death, along with all of the passengers who lost their lives, hit deep. He exemplified what it meant to be great, which is something I will continue to strive for.”
“I’d always hear reporters saying things about the other victims. But I think that if it weren’t Kobe (Bryant), then those seven other people would not have been mentioned by name. But I wish all the victims and their families the best in healing and moving forward from this tragedy.”
“I feel like they should honor the other victims, but Kobe is such a big star that his name ultimately got most of the attention. You feel sad either way; your heart goes out to all of the victims and their families.”
“I feel like Kobe meant so much to people, so it’s hard for people to share their thoughts right now. The NBA has been doing a good job of mentioning the other victims. It’s been pretty balanced as far as keeping into account all the families that were a part of the tragedy.”
“I woke up and saw the breaking news that morning. I had to confirm it wasn’t from The Onion or another fake news outlet. I would say Kobe Bryant and his daughter took up most of the coverage. I saw an Instagram post from his wife, which mentioned the other victims. Although Kobe Bryant is a legend, all lives matter.”
