A common piece of advice for ambitious sportsmen is to remember how it feels to lose. If Rocky didn't constantly remember how Ivan Drago murked Apollo Creed in front of him, he would've just used common sense and not travel to Russia to fight him.
Kobe Bryant doesn't single-handedly win the Cold War for a living. He gets buckets, but that piece of advice still applies to him. In fact, it helped him win his last NBA title.
In 2008, the Celtics straight up embarrassed Bryant in the Finals, dispatching the Lakers by 39 points in the series-ending Game 6. During the win, Boston continued its long history of obnoxiously playing outdated sports anthems. This time it was Journey's 1981 classic "Don't Stop Believin'."
Bryant had to spend that summer with a humiliating blowout and Steve Perry's wails on his mind. It fueled him until he faced the Celtics in the Finals again in 2010. (The Lakers won the championship over the Magic in 2009, but of course, revenge is sweeter.)
"I listened to that song every single day because it just reminded me of that feeling. Same thing with the Dropkick Murphys [song "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"]," Bryant said, according to ESPN. I'm listening to Dropkick Murphys all the time just because I want to remember that feeling."
The two years of torture worked. The Lakers beat the Celtics in seven games for Bryant's fifth title. After two years of refusing to stop believing, Bryant lit Boston up that series with 28.6 points per game.
Bryant's final game at Boston takes place Dec. 30.
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[via ESPN]
