Non - RIP Kobe

Kenya Cherrie said:
Three USA sports that don't interest the majority of English sports fans are Basketball, Baseball and American Football.
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I’d agree with Baseball but I think Basketball does have a reasonable following especially amongst younger people. NFL has an older following in the UK but it does sell out matches at Wembley several times a year
 
NWCherries98 said:
I can't believe the amount of people on here that didn't even know who he was tbh. I know absolutely nothing about basketball but even I know who he is. Obviously not criticising it's just weird to me. maybe its an age thing

And yeah, celebrities get "mourned more" because they have touched more people's lives than regular people have. The amount of devastated people on twitter I've seen who held Kobe up as a role model and kind of father figure in their lives (especially people growing up without parents), I don't understand anyone taking the stance of "why mourn them so much over regular people, hmmm?"

Obviously his life isn't "worth" more than anyone elses, but it just comes across as contrarian and dickish to chastise anyone for mourning the death of a public figure if they've had a big impact on your life (not directed at you TJ just off on a tangent).
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I am also surprised [ not that it matters ] that any sports fan from the UK wouldn't have heard of Kobe Bryant. I don't follow Basketball too closely [ did see a NY Knicks game once! ]....but I knew he was the most recent superstar that followed the likes of Michael Jordon etc. I know that LaBron James is the current big name.

Also agree that people DO feel a sense of loss when a hug celebrity name passes unexpectedly. Whether we ever knew them or not doesn't matter. We often feel like we DID know them and feelings can be quite real. I saw lots of posts on Facebook yesterday from people very upset by this news, many from over here, who had idolised him as a player. It's just a fact that a well known name will get the main attention in these things. Although the others in the crash weren't known at first either.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Basketball is just not in the public consciousness in the UK. I think many of us could name a handful of basketball players but would have no idea if asked to give any details about them. I don't know if I've ever had a conversation about Kobe Bryant before this happened.

I would imagine that if Sachin Tendulkar died suddenly that it would be a relative footnote in North America yet by most measures he's probably a bigger star. Twice as many twitter followers for example.
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Yes, good point. I had to look him up. Good comparator too as he has retired from his sport, as had Kobe.

Ironically, in looking him up this appeared on his twitter account.
https://twitter.com/sachin_rt




"Saddened to hear about the tragic demise of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna & others on-board the helicopter. My condolences to his family, friends and fans across the world. #KobeBryant"

A big part of the agnst is also the loss of his "next life after basketball". He was dedicated to spending more time with his family (they were off to a girls' basketball game when they died) and had already won an Academy Award. Who knows what else he might of accomplished, in the same vein as Jordan, Magic, Barkley and other former basketball stars.
 
Toronto John said:
It surprises me that Kobe (a one name celebrity/sports star over here) is not singularly identified internationally. As sports fans, I would have thought that everyone would have tripped over him at some time, as he won medals in two Olympics in addition to his NBA career. I don't say that with an iota of criticism, it just goes to show once again that we are on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

The mourning of a celebrity is always going to be disproportional to the mourning of "one of us", except of course for the family involved. How often do we say "I remember where I was when I heard ..... (JFK, RFK, MLK, John Lennon, David Bowie, Neil Peart, on an on) ... had died". It doesn't mean that their lives should be given more value that anyone else, but simply that their celebrity shone so bright that we felt that we knew them. Kobe yesterday will be one of those "I remember where I was" events for me.
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I know where I was when I heard Kurt Cobain had killed himself - in the Joiners in Southampton watching blessed Ethel - supported by Ash
 
Its an age thing too....ive never actually heard of him....about an hour ago my grandaughters jaw dropped in disbelief when I said that..." Dont you even know of All the things he's done outside basketball ? she said..followed by" Thats totally sad"

:shrug: !
 
Allegedly, they are reporting that the weather conditions (Fog) were very poor for flying at the time of the accident. Very sad for all of the families who have lost loved ones.

This is an interesting site that I read daily which publishes a/c incident/accident reports. I suspect they will cover this accident in time.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/

Allegedly was flying Special Visual Flight Rules(SVFR), not Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html/chap7_section_5.html
 
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SlowDownDerek said:
Lol you're talking b*llocks. Measured by hours travelling or miles it's more dangerous yet you're using the famous "travelling from one side of London to the other" method. Even then you've not really supported your point.
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You haven't got a clue have you. It's a far safer way to travel, that's a FACT as some people say. It's not even an argument.
 
Neil Dawson said:
Only this forum could turn the loss of nine people into a furious physics debate.

Eagerly awaiting Coronavirus thread appearing and turning into a boycott of crap Mexican beer (ade)
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You think pandemic threads will simply more the loss of people or will actually discuss the subject?

Apologies to those who personally new those who died. I assumed no one on here did...my mistake obviously.
 
Druss_the_Legend said:
You haven't got a clue have you. It's a far safer way to travel, that's a FACT as some people say. It's not even an argument.
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I know you like to think the world is black and white Druss but it I isn't. As far as I can see you'd only be right if it was calculated per mile and even then its debatable. Per journey? Na.
 
Druss you seem to think that millions and millions of people fly around in helicopters on a daily basis.

They don’t.

If the same amount of people who drove cars used helicopters on a daily basis the facts would be undeniable.
 
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