I remember the moment I chose to root for the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant. As a kid, I used to spend summers and holidays with my grandparents in Covina, Calif. In those hot Southern California summers, I would often find a nice cool sanctuary in their basement and watch television. On one such day when I was 5 or 6, I happened to come across a local news special about a member of the Los Angeles Lakers who befriended a sick child in the hospital. I had never seen an athlete do such a thing before. I was sold. Kobe was my guy and the Lakers were my squad.
As a Catholic, I have been moved beyond belief to see the tributes to Kobe from church leaders and others who have shared beautiful stories about his Catholicism. There is good reason for this: The Black Mamba’s life is a classic story of Christian redemption.
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