Dear Basketball R.I.P. Kobe

Dear Basketball

From the moment
I started rolling my dad‘s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.
As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.
And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that‘s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you‘ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I‘ll always love you for it.
But I can‘t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it‘s time to say goodbye.
And that‘s OK.
I‘m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I‘ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe

这是科比退役NBA时候的致辞。
后面被翻拍成了动画短片Dear Basketball，并且获得了奥斯卡最佳动画短片。
去年第一次的时候，眼眶有些湿润，今天再看，再次湿润眼角。


曾经有记者问科比：“你为什么能如此成功呢？”
科比反问道： “你见过凌晨四点的洛杉矶吗？”
记者摇摇头：“不知道，那你说说洛杉矶每天早上四点钟究竟什么样儿？”
科比挠挠头，说：“满天星星，寥落的灯光，行人很少。”
说到这科比笑了，“究竟怎么样，我也不太清楚。但这没有关系，你说是吗?每天洛杉矶早上四点仍然在黑暗中，我就起床行走在黑暗的洛杉矶街道上。一天过去了，洛杉矶的黑暗没有丝毫改变;两天过去了，黑暗依然没有半点改变;十多年过去了，洛杉矶街道早上四点的黑暗仍然没有改变，但我却已变成了肌肉强健，有体能、有力量，有着很高投篮命中率的运动员。”

这个世界上总有一些人比别人更出色
人们喜欢称乎这种人为天才
并且将他们出色的原因归结于某些先天优势
但人类的构造都是一样的，大脑也好肌肉也罢，差异都不大，
那些被称为天才的人比别人付出了更多
科学家付出的是脑力，运动员付出的是脑力
更重要的是他们付出了比别人更多的时间在想要达成的目标上
不管这个目标是什么，因为他们相信自己，也相信这个目标一定能达成。

只有努力的人，才知道努力的意义，各位猫猫的朋友请共勉。
Trust me, my friends, according to my experience so far, when you finished about 10,000 hours training, you can see the light in the pass, of which Zhao, Yangjia, Asking walk through. That‘s true and exactly the truth.