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RIP Kobe Bryant


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#81 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:03 PM

I’m trying to think...Is this the worst celebrity death of our lifetime?

I mean, big name people have died over the last 25-40 years but the way this happened makes it worse.

I’m trying to think of someone this big dying in a sudden way that hurt so many...Prince maybe? Michael Jackson?

Tony Gwynn and Seau weren’t at Kobe’s level if I were to think of athletes.

Len Bias? Not known enough.


Cobain, BIG, Tupac...   Kobe had nearly 25 years in the public eye, those guys did not. 

 

Jackson was huge... but he wasn't exactly in the prime of life like Kobe. 

If you are going back 40 years... Lennon.



#82 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:09 PM

Cobain, BIG, Tupac...   Kobe had nearly 25 years in the public eye, those guys did not. 
 
Jackson was huge... but he wasn't exactly in the prime of life like Kobe. 
If you are going back 40 years... Lennon.


Those first 3 are good ones but not sure they compare to Kobe for the exact reason you said..shelf life.

Jackson, even out of his prime, was still one of the biggest stars in the world but the child accusations certainly diminished his star somewhat.

Lennon would be a good one..in this era of social media, Kobe may still be bigger though.

Not sure..obviously Lennon was revered world wide but I don’t know enough about that time to know if he was someone that crossed all lines to different cultures, professions, etc...the way Kobe does.



#83 SBTarheel

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:09 PM

Kobe and Len Bias as far as "shocking" deaths go.. Cobain had just tried to kill himself the month before, so that hit me hard, but wasn't completely out of left field like this was. 

 

Bias and Kobe were just so unexpected. Just gutting. 


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#84 glenn__davis

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:18 PM

I’m trying to think...Is this the worst celebrity death of our lifetime?

I mean, big name people have died over the last 25-40 years but the way this happened makes it worse.

I’m trying to think of someone this big dying in a sudden way that hurt so many...Prince maybe? Michael Jackson?

Tony Gwynn and Seau weren’t at Kobe’s level if I were to think of athletes.

Len Bias? Not known enough.

 

Not sure if it was bigger in the US or not, but I'd put Princess Diana up there.


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#85 SBTarheel

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:20 PM

Not sure if it was bigger in the US or not, but I'd put Princess Diana up there.

Yea, good call. That was worldwide shock. 


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#86 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:23 PM

Not sure if it was bigger in the US or not, but I'd put Princess Diana up there.


This is a really good one.

I didn’t follow the royal family at all (still don’t care about them) and I was just out of HS but even I knew how big of a deal it was that she died.

Certainly doesn’t impact me the same way but she is definitely right there with Kobe.

#87 Mike in STL

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:24 PM

I’m trying to think...Is this the worst celebrity death of our lifetime?

I mean, big name people have died over the last 25-40 years but the way this happened makes it worse.

I’m trying to think of someone this big dying in a sudden way that hurt so many...Prince maybe? Michael Jackson?

Tony Gwynn and Seau weren’t at Kobe’s level if I were to think of athletes.

Len Bias? Not known enough.

I was trying to think about this too. If you were born after 1980, like myself, this has to be the biggest stars death we have lived through, who was a star when we could appreciate their talents. I mean, Johnny Unitas, Ted Williams, Ali, those guys were not our generation. 

 

Even Michael Jackson...Thriller came out in 1982. All the creepy stuff aside, he is of the previous generation to me, being born in 84'. Prince, I think Purple Rain was 1984, but was bigger, earlier. Born in 84' I consider myself a 90s "kid"  because I was between 5 and 15 in the 1990s. Prince and Jackson aren't artists of the 90s, IMO.

 

Kobe is on the Peyton Manning, Ken Griffey Jr. level of greatness in their field which is higher than those in their respective fields such as Tupac, Biggie, Cobain, Amy Winehouse. Bigger than Tony Gwynn. Bigger than Paul Walker, Heath Ledger.


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#88 The Epic

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:27 PM

I was trying to think about this too. If you were born after 1980, like myself, this has to be the biggest stars death we have lived through, who was a star when we could appreciate their talents. I mean, Johnny Unitas, Ted Williams, Ali, those guys were not our generation. 

 

Even Michael Jackson...Thriller came out in 1982. All the creepy stuff aside, he is of the previous generation to me, being born in 84'. Prince, I think Purple Rain was 1984, but was bigger, earlier. Born in 84' I consider myself a 90s "kid"  because I was between 5 and 15 in the 1990s. Prince and Jackson aren't artists of the 90s, IMO.

 

Kobe is on the Peyton Manning, Ken Griffey Jr. level of greatness in their field which is higher than those in their respective fields such as Tupac, Biggie, Cobain, Amy Winehouse. Bigger than Tony Gwynn. Bigger than Paul Walker, Heath Ledger.

 

I think Griffey would be a very good comparison here, were he to suddenly pass. Jay-Z, Will Smith, Peyton Manning, Dwayne Johnson. That level of star. 


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#89 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:31 PM

And Kobe was to be inducted into the HOF this year..with Duncan and KG.

#90 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:33 PM

I think Griffey would be a very good comparison here, were he to suddenly pass. Jay-Z, Will Smith, Peyton Manning, Dwayne Johnson. That level of star. 


Kobe crushes Griffey because so many don’t care about baseball.

I don’t think Will Smith would be on that level.

The Rock? Ehhh maybe..the Fast and Furious movies help. Jay Z probably but I just don’t get the feeling we would have all day long coverage from all news networks for him.

Peyton for sure.

#91 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:34 PM

MJ and Tiger would definitely be at or above Kobe.

LeBron? Probably.

I don’t know what Brady’s off the field impact is like to know if he belongs in this conversation or not.

#92 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:39 PM

From a worldwide perspective Michael Jackson was a bigger name. Thats taking nothing away from Kobe who was also huge worldwide. Michael Jackson, even removed from his peak popularity, was still one of the 2 or 3 most famous people on Earth. I would imagine that Lennon was as big or bigger in '80 as well.
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#93 TwentyThirtyFive

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:47 PM

One big difference between Kobe and most of the other huge celebrity deaths of late is that unfortunately the others deaths were in some ways self inflicted. This was a tragic accident.

#94 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:53 PM

I guess if you consider worldwide, Messi and Ronaldo would be on this list.

Probably wouldn’t be wall to wall coverage here but basically everywhere else it would be.

#95 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:59 PM

https://twitter.com/...1571419137?s=21

#96 The Epic

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 01:59 PM

MJ and Tiger would definitely be at or above Kobe.

LeBron? Probably.

I don’t know what Brady’s off the field impact is like to know if he belongs in this conversation or not.

 

 LeBron definitely. I think MJ/Tiger are above Kobe's level to the point that it would stop -everything-. 

 

I don't think Brady is at that level, because there's limited off-field impact. On that, I"ll probably concede on Griffey as well (even though KG Jr Baseball is one of the five best games of all time).

 

Will Smith is absolutely on that level, due to breadth of talent, amount of time as a star, and the fact that he's leaving a legacy. Same for Jay-Z. Same for Peyton, honestly. I can't quite say that for The Rock but it very well could be the case.



#97 PD24

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 02:01 PM

Kobe crushes Griffey because so many don’t care about baseball.

I don’t think Will Smith would be on that level.

The Rock? Ehhh maybe..the Fast and Furious movies help. Jay Z probably but I just don’t get the feeling we would have all day long coverage from all news networks for him.

Peyton for sure.

 

No one knows who Peyton Manning is overseas. 

 

I honestly don't think there could be a bigger shocker for an athlete dying than Kobe. Compare him to MJ and he hasn't played a game in 20 years and many current NBA stars didn't even see him play. LeBron is not as beloved as Kobe and didn't play in the big market his whole career

 

I think Tiger would be the closest comparison. 


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#98 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 02:01 PM

This is a good example of what I’m talking about

https://twitter.com/...5190301698?s=21


Because of his popularity in Asia, he may be as big a world wide figure as Michael Jackson was.

#99 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 02:04 PM

 LeBron definitely. I think MJ/Tiger are above Kobe's level to the point that it would stop -everything-. 
 
I don't think Brady is at that level, because there's limited off-field impact. On that, I"ll probably concede on Griffey as well (even though KG Jr Baseball is one of the five best games of all time).
 
Will Smith is absolutely on that level, due to breadth of talent, amount of time as a star, and the fact that he's leaving a legacy. Same for Jay-Z. Same for Peyton, honestly. I can't quite say that for The Rock but it very well could be the case.


Ehhh..new movie aside, Will Smith hasn’t had a huge on camera appearance for the last several years...at least not major world wide films.

There wouldn’t be wall to wall coverage across all networks if something like this happened.

His death may have the same impact on his fans and those who grew up with him but I don’t think the same amount would be there as it is with Kobe and I don’t think the world wide appeal would be as much.

#100 SportsGuy

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Posted 27 January 2020 - 02:06 PM

No one knows who Peyton Manning is overseas. 
 
I honestly don't think there could be a bigger shocker for an athlete dying than Kobe. Compare him to MJ and he hasn't played a game in 20 years and many current NBA stars didn't even see him play. LeBron is not as beloved as Kobe and didn't play in the big market his whole career
 
I think Tiger would be the closest comparison. 


MJ is still bigger than Kobe though.

Tiger is easily bigger than Kobe. Tiger is probably the most recognizable person in the world outside of maybe Obama or Trump but I think you put Presidents in a different category for something like this.




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