It wasn’t a season anymore. It was a vigil, or maybe a siege.
When would Kobe Bryant liberate himself and his franchise? When would he realize that you sometimes hurt the game you love?
Officially it happened Sunday, on the “pages” of The Players Tribune, Derek Jeter’s invention that lets athletes tell their own stories without filter, skepticism or perspective.
Bryant framed his farewell as a poem. He said goodbye to the game he loves. Now we anticipate saying hello, again, to the game we remember.
Granted, Bryant’s retirement announcement was not really news. A pledge that he would play in 2016-17 would have been more shocking, if not terrifying.