“If I panic, everyone else panics.”
—Kobe Bryant
By Alex P. Vidal
SOMETIME in the first week of March in 2008, I “abducted” my kumpare, Lynon Cortez, from his residence in downtown Los Angeles in California and brought him straight to the Hollywood.
“Maano ta di pare man? (What shall we do here, buddy?)” Cortez, a former radioman in Iloilo City in the Philippines, protested.
I asked pare Lynon to wait and relax inside the Nat’s Thai Food, a restaurant located on Vine Street and a stone throw away from the famous Wild Card Gym, where Sen. Manny Pacquiao was training.
When Pacquiao, who was then preparing for his rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15, 2008, entered the restaurant, I introduced pare Lynon.
They shook hands and had photos taken together.
I noticed that unlike other US-based fans eager to get closer and shake the world boxing champion’s hands, pare Lynon was placid and unperturbed.
It was his first personal meeting with Pacquiao, he admitted, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t mesmerized by the boxer’s presence and didn’t give a damn that Pacquiao was a celebrity.
When pare Lynon did not flaunt his photos with Pacquiao to his friends and family, it gave me a hint he wasn’t interested with the eight-time world boxing titlist.
But, as a Filipino-American, he would root and place a bet for the popular Filipino boxer each time the latter fought the Mexican warriors like Oscar Larios, Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Jorge Solis, and Emmanuel Lucero.
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A week ago, pare Lynon and I talked about the “celebration of life” event at the Staple Center held on February 24 where Los Angeles came to a stop to publicly memorialize Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
“I will definitely be there,” pare Lynon quipped. “I will report the event on RMN (Iloilo). I’m a big Kobe Bryant fan. I really cried when I learned that he died.”
Pare Lynon loved Kobe Bryant not only because he was an NBA star, “but because he was a family man.”
Kobe Bryant was a model husband and father, according to pare Lynon, who watched Kobe in action at the Staple Center in the past several times.
“He lived a clean life and loved his family so much,” stressed the former Ilonggo broadcaster, who once reprimanded a colleague for being a womanizer.
Pare Lynon was so excited to attend the memorial. “It’s a big event and I will do my best to be there,” he said.
Vanessa Bryant announced the public service on Instagram earlier this month and pointed out the symbolism in the date: 2/24/20.
Two for the number Gianna, aka “Mambacita,” wore. Twenty-four for the number Kobe wore during the second half of his career. And twenty, for the years Kobe and Vanessa spent together.
According to records, Kobe and Gianna were buried in a private ceremony on Feb. 7.
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Pare Lynon shared to me what happened during the memorial at the Staple Center where another NBA legend Michael Jordan revealed he loved Kobe Bryant "like a little brother" and had tears streaming down his face, pulling back the curtain on the relationship between the greatest players of their respective generations.
Jordan said: “When Kobe died, a little piece of me died. Looking around the room, a piece of you died too, or else you wouldn't be here."
Shaquille O'Neal, another NBA star who views Kobe Bryant as a little brother, mirrored Jordan's blend of comedy and seriousness. He also compared their relationship to The Beatles' John Lennon-Paul McCartney dynamic.
Pare Lynon said it was late-night host Jimmy Kimmel who first spoke at the podium after a Bryant highlight reel before introducing Vanessa who chortled, "Thank you all so much for being here. It means so much to us."
Vanessa began by talking about Gianna and how she always showed her love with a morning and nightly kiss.
"Gianna never tried to conform," Vanessa said. "She was always herself."
She also lamented on what "Gigi" will not experience in this life: her wedding day, never driving a car or attending high school, the chance to become the best player in WNBA history.
"I miss you every day. I love you," Vanessa said.
She then turned her eulogy toward Kobe, who she'd been with since she was 17 years old.
"He was my everything," she said. "Kobe loved more than I could express or put into words ... we balanced each other out. He would do anything for me.
"Kobe was the MVP of girl dads," added Vanessa, before telling stories about Kobe being a father to Gianna and his three other girls: Natalia, 17; Bianca, 3; and Capri, 8 months.
“God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other," Vanessa said. "He had to bring them home together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi. And I got Nati, Bibi and Coco. ... May you both rest in peace and have fun in heaven until we meet again one day."
As she descended the stage, Michael Jordan helped her down the steps.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
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