There’s so much than can be said about this man. One thing I’d like to share is how passionate he was about something he loved. Whether it was basketball, his family or his philanthropies, he always gave it his all. He wrote a poem about his passion for basketball and created an animation that won an Oscar, Dear Basketball.
Poem – Dear Basketball
Animation – Dear Basketball
Rubik’s Cube Tribute – Kobe Cube
What are you passionate about? Be inspired by Kobe’s writing and write a poem about the activity you love!
Dear Theater,
Ever since
I saw my first show
I knew you were right for me.
As I watched actors
sing and dance
across the stage
I knew:
I had fallen in love with you
I love you so much
I do my best for you-
with my heart and mind,
to my spirit and my time.
I cannot see the end
when I will have to forget you,
only the beginning
with the curtain opening
on a new opportunity
of an amazing show.
I work for you,
for the applause,
for the laughter,
for the tears.
Thank you,
for showing me
a new experience.
Thank you,
for letting me out into the world.
Thank you,
for letting me be who I am.
Thank you,
for letting stand in a spotlight
and take a bow.
You are my past,
my present,
and my future.
I love you.
Love,
Delia
Dear soccer,
From the moment I started watching
Documentaries about famous soccer players
I knew I wanted to be one
And scoring imaginary game-winning shots
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep
I gave you my all
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.
As a four year old
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.
And so I ran
I ran up and down every field
After every ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I am playing through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because you called me
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes me feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel
You gave a four year old his Barcelona
dream
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
Watching those soccer documentaries
And scoring those imaginary game-winning shots
Love you always,
Neil
Dear Basketball,
From the moment I started dribbling the ball
And shooting imaginary three pointers
In the great Madison Square Garden
I knew something had happened:
I am addicted to you.
An addiction so big I give you my all-
From my brain and body,
To my spirit and soul.
As a five-year-old boy,
Majorly addicted.
I never saw me air-balling,
I saw it going in.
I played through the exhaustion and tiredness.
Not because victory called me,
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for you
Because that’s what you do with the pride and heart that somebody gives you.
You gave a five-year-old boy his basketball dream
And I’ll always adore you for it.
I will continue to obsess over you.
I will have fun with you every time.
My heart wants me to keep playing.
My mind tells me to keep practicing.
My body fights through the bruises and bumps.
I’m happy that I found you.
I’m preparing to have a great time with you until the day I die
We will cherish the great moments together and fight through the hard ones.
I will give you my all with each opportunity you give me.
And we both know, no matter what I do next,
I will always be that kid dribbling, and shooting REAL three-pointers hopefully one day in Madison Square Garden.
Love you always,
Jonathan
Dear Programming,
Since I found out about video games and that you could make them
I started fantasizing amazing creations
Being built by me: a programmer
Once school showed me just a little code
Slowly code block by code block
I knew one thing happened:
My heart mind and soul fell for you.
I devoted my everything towards you
Only because you made your way to a special place in me
Just blocks is how I started
Then watching the magic on the screen
Though the universe screamed,
It shouted and pointed until
Everything around me lead me to the next level of our relationship
You challenged, hurt and especially confused me
But that special place in me didn’t let me stop
Neither did the universe
Even though it was a rocky start and probably a rocky middle and end
Your place in me,
The universe
And my memories of that 4 year old kid playing video games
And then my teacher kicking me into you
Will never let me stop from bringing it to the next level
Love,
Max
Dear horseback riding,
From the moment
I rode a pony at a carnival
And imagining a jumping show
3 foot high jumps 7, 8
In the Kentucky Derby
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind and body,
To my spirit and soul.
As a 10-year old girl
Deeply in love with you
I never saw myself leading a horse into a stall
I only saw myself leading a horse out of one.
And so I rode.
I rode up and down every ring
Ran around every stall for you.
You asked for my trying
I gave you my heart
Because it cae with so much more.
And so I rode.
I rode through the hot and the cold
Not because challenge called me
Because you called me.
I did everything for you
Because that’s what you do
When something makes you feel as
loved as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a 10-year old girl furry dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
And I can love you obsessively for much longer.
Summer and winter my first times.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the dreaming mind
Head on my pillow, fast asleep
5 seconds of the song left
Jump, jump
Love you always,
Katelyn
Dear Football,
From the moment
I saw Eli Manning
Hoisting the Lombardi Trophy
After Super Bowl XLVI
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all-
From my brain & skill
To my heart & soul.
As a four-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw any interceptions.
I only saw touchdowns.
And so I hustled.
I ran up and down every field
After every fumble for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played through the rain and snow
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you made me feel.
You gave a four-year-old boy his football dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
I will continue to love you for much longer.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
Daydreaming in class
Ball in my hands
Defender blitzing
Throw…
Touchdown!
Love you always,
Logan
Dear Reading,
From the moment
When my mother’s voice reached my ear
and the words on the page came to life,
The characters became my friends
and the setting became my home
I knew one thing was real,
I fell in love with you.
I loved you so much
and you made me so happy.
You nourished my mind
and you fed my brain,
because of this I became obsessed with you.
You took me places
I could never imagine,
You taught me things
I never thought I’d know.
You made my life so much fuller.
Without you I wouldn’t have
Learned all the things I know.
You are the best thing that ever happened to me.
I can take you anywhere.
Nothing compares to what
you’ve done for me.
I savor every moment
I spend with you.
I will love you always,
no matter what.
Thank you for everything
Love Hannah.
Dear track,
You gave me my chance to release
my full potential, my chance to
enjoy a sport from the age 4-10
You make me happy.
You make me calm.
You make me finally be the person
I should be.
I always love you, and when I’m older
I will try it myself.
I try my best to win,
I don’t always win.
But YOU, YOU are the most enjoyable
thing of my life.
Thank you, that’s all I have
to say. Thank you.
Dear Softball,
From the moment
I stepped up to the plate
and swung my bat
and hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium
I knew this wasn’t going to be the last time I’d do it
I am in love with you
A love so strong
I dedicated my life to you
Gave you all my time and effort
And all my strength and thought
As an eight year old girl
Addicted to sports
I never saw the ball in the catchers glove
I saw it over the wall
I played through the mind blocks and strikeouts
Not because coach gave me a sign to swing
Because YOU gave me a sign to swing for the fence
I hit every ball for you
Just like anyone would do with such love and determination
You gave an eight year old girl her softball dream
And I will always love you for it
And I will continue to train
So hard that I won’t stop
My mind will tell me to keep going
And my heart will love you every time
And my body will get stronger every swing and throw
I’m happy that I found you
And I will never lose you until the day I die
We will cherish the base hits, doubles, triples, and especially the home runs
But we will fight through the strikeouts
And every at bat, grounder, and stolen base I will always give you my all
No matter what happens as I play you
I will always be the one bat flipping that walk-off
or making that diving catch
And hopefully one day hoisting that NCAA trophy
Love you always,
Stella
Dear Piano,
From the moment I walked into that small room
And saw the other kids making music
And I wanted to do it for myself one day
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you.
A love so deep I gave you my all-
My fingers pressing the keys,
My mind touching my future.
As a four-year-old girl
Deeply in love with you
I never saw myself closing the song book.
I only saw myself
turning the pages.
And so I played
Every song I could learn.
You asked for my practice
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played through the good and the bad
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a four-year-old girl her musical dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
And I can love you obsessively for so much longer.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
Closing my eyes…
Five more chords of the song left…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One.
Love you forever,
Jacklyn