Everyone is being so nice to Derek Jeter right now. Because he's playing in his final MLB season and because he's been so important to the game of baseball, everyone from his fellow players to opposing fans have cheered for Jeets during games this season. And you know who hates it? Kobe Bryant.
Kobe appears on the new cover of Sports Illustrated along with the headline, "Twilight the Saga: The Final Fascinating Days of a Legend." And while we haven't read the cover story yet—the issue is scheduled to hit newsstands soon—it appears as though the story focuses on the end of Kobe's career. And one point that he makes loud and clear in the cover story is that he does not want to be treated like Jeter in his final NBA seasons. Specifically, he doesn't want fans who have booed him in the past to suddenly start cheering for him just because he's inching closer towards retirement.
"If you booed me for 18, 19 years, boo me for the 20th," he says in the SI story. "That's the game, man."
Kobe also makes it clear that he still thinks he can be a productive player for the Lakers over the course of the next two seasons. And his goal is to prove anyone who says otherwise wrong.
"When I hear pundits and people talk saying, 'Well, he won't be what he was.' Know what? You're right," he says. "I won't be. But just because something evolves, it doesn't make it any less better than it was before."
Keep an eye out for Kobe's entire SI cover story, which should hit the Internet soon. In the meantime, answer this: Are you more inclined to cheer for Kobe now that he's coming to the end of his career?
[via Sports Illustrated]
