By Lucas Pejovic-Nezhat
On January 26th 2020, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident at the age of 41. As the world stood still and tributes poured in for the international sports icon, many described the loss similar to the death of a family member. The tragedy’s effects were felt the most in Los Angeles, where it’s residents saw a skinny 17 year old kid from Philadelphia transformed into one of basketball’s greatest players of all time. It’s easy to list all of Bryant’s never ending accomplishments to try to distinguish why he was so beloved but it fails to do him justice. Through the triumphs and defeats, celebrations and controversies, one particular aspect stood out that separated Kobe from the rest, he embodied “if you work hard-you work hard enough- your dreams come true”. Sport’s today have a following that could almost rival religion. From elementary school all the way to professional leagues, millions upon millions of people either play or watch athletes work up a sweat doing physical activity. But why? The primary reasons include building a sense of community, serves as a mental escape, and keeps people fit. So then why we constantly associate the Cinderella narrative with sports, a fairytale about a girl finding her prince charming through a long lost shoe. Every year there’s at least one team that pulls off a couple upsets and the country falls in love with during March Madness. When my basketball team won the state championship after having the worst record the year before I made an Instagram post with the caption, “Cinderella run complete”. Going beyond the simple underdog theme “Cinderella” is a rags to riches class mobility narrative arc that emphasizes compassion, perseverance, and teamwork, which is why I argue that locating her fairy tale structure in the stories we use to construct sports icons helps us actualize and fill in the blanks between fiction and realistic fairy tales.
The story of “Cinderella” is a tale that has been in circulation thousands of years. It began in ancient Greek, when a courtesan named Rhodopis had one of shoes stolen by an eagle, who flies it all the way across the Mediterranean and drops it in the lap of an Egyptian king. Since then the fairy tale has been retold countless times and has been transformed into other media such as Disney films. One of the most popular retellings is that of Brothers Grimm. In their version, “Cinderella” loses her mother to an illness at a very young age but before she passes away she tells her daughter to stay good and she will “look down on you from heaven”(Tatar 148). Soon thereafter the father remarries a cruel woman with two beautiful but equally wicked daughters. Together the new additionally family members degrade Cinderella by stealing her possessions and giving her every single arduous task possible. In light of this mistreatment, Cinderella completed the chores without complaint and visited her mother’s grave everyday. One day the king announces a grand festival and for all the beautiful women to come so that his son can find a bride. When her stepmother refuses to allow Cinderella unless she completes the impossible task of sorting peas in under an hour, two turtle doves come to her air. Despite completing her duties, she is still unfairly forbidden to go because she doesn’t have the proper attire (which was thrown out by her stepsisters). With the help of her magical tree she is thrown down a beautiful dress and slippers. Finally able to go to the ball the prince falls in love with her beauty and grace and Cinderella finds her happy ever after.
The way “Cinderella’s rags to riches story informs the construction of sports icons by showing how crucial it is to lean on the belief and perseverance that you deserve what you want to achieve. After her mother passed and her father remarried, Cinderella’s new life should’ve been as joyous as her father’s. Having a stepmother and two beautiful stepsisters seemed like it would be an upgrade from the lonesome past year. Instead she was tormented by her new noble family members who “took away her beautiful clothes, dressed her in an old gray smock, and some wooden shoes” (148). Despite the constant degradation, Cinderella worked arduously at the tasks given to her so that she could be brought along to the King’s festival, a place she felt she deserved to be. Cinderella’s motivation to go the dance is eerily similar to the nine game stretch leading up to Kobe Bryant’s achilles tear. 2013 was “supposed to be easy” according to Bryant. “ After all, this was a team that in the offseason acquired Steve Nash, a two-time MVP, and Dwight Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year. They had the league’s highest payroll, at just north of $100 million” (Holmes). Unfortunately, it was a disaster from the jump and as the season wore on, the Lakers were on track for ultimate catastrophe, not even making it to the playoffs. Despite nearly being 35 years of age, Kobe took it upon himself to lead his team to the eighth seed. Through the next nine games he averaged career best numbers, stat lines he never produced before, and took charge in calling every single play. The toll on his body was tremendous, “he would walk around like a grandma” (Holmes), ice baths, massages everything. Nonetheless, he continued to play almost every single second of each game, setting a second-best record in minutes played over a nine game stretch over the last 50 years. Even after his achilles tendon blew out, he attempted to reattach the tendon with his fingers. When that didn’t work, in grimacing agony he walked to the free throw line to drain two crucial game-tying shots. The final days of Kobe Bryant’s waning prime served as a perfect representation of why Los Angeles loved him dearly. He represented that Los Angeles was more than just Hollywood and black tie events. “The working class and first and second generation immigrants that comprise the spinal cord of the city”(Weiss) could identify with his work ethic, dedication, and self-sacrifice. With that came the belief and inspiration, that they too could be more.
Another way “Cinderella’s” rags to riches story informs the construction of sports icons through compassion is by showing that being virtuous will bring about good fortune. Unlike her stepsisters she wasn’t a materialistic person. When her father asked what she wanted him to bring her from his trip, rather than asking for pearls and jewels she told him to “break off the first branch that brushes against your hat on the way home and bring it to me” (Tatar 149). Although her job was made more difficult by her stepsister who “ridiculed her and threw peas and lentils” (148) out in the ashes she never once spoke ill of her family. “Cinderella” was an overly generous person, sometimes to the point of being a pushover, but eventually fate rewarded her with a magical tree and birds. Early in Kobe Bryant’s career there was no such persona similarity. He was ruthless to rookies, egotistical and his head coach Phil Jackson once called him a juvenile delinquent. However, what Kobe did do was transform himself into a better man. “The Kobe Bryant of 1996 to 2004 is not the Kobe Bryant of 2005 to January 26, 2020”(Gregory). In front of the entire world’s eyes he went from a cocky teenager, to champion, to a symbol of misogyny and toxic masculinity when he was accused of rape, to a GirlDad and a fierce advocate of women’s sports. Bryant didn’t start off as a pure and loving figure like Cinderella, but he learned how to improve himself through the medium of sports. “Everything that I’ve learned from the game of basketball, I’ve carried it over into life. Basketball has helped me be a better person, a better friend, a better father” (Bryant). After being dropped by almost every sponsor and discarded as the face of the NBA, he rehabilitated himself to being a large philanthropist and mentor to the next generation. His journey of maturation showed that no setback is permanent. As a result athletes were able to empathize with Kobe and appreciate sports because he showed that no loss is in vain because “even when you lose you learn something” (Ghildiyal) to shape your character and make you a better person.
A third way “Cinderella’s rags to riches story informs the construction of sports icons is through collaboration. Neither a fictional character or the primary human example of success through sheer will could achieve their goals alone. “Cinderella” didn’t lack resilience, each day she would work from morning until night, where she would sleep on the floor. But even she had to enlist two little turtle doves to help her put “the good ones into the little pot, the bad ones into your little pot” (Ttar 149). After they complete all sorting tasks for “Cinderella”, they even give her a dress of gold and silver and embroidered slippers. Without their aid, she would have never gotten the ending she deserved. Similarly, post Shaquille O’Neal’s departure from the Lakers, Bryant struggled to win his 4th and 5th championships, even missing the playoffs in 2006. While he did have personal success such as scoring titles and All-NBA nominations he failed to capture what he truly desired, rings. Those were the ultimate symbol of a winner and a champion, but they also represented the coherence and chemistry of a team. It wasn’t until Bryant partly shedded his mentality that his pursuit of excellence outweighed everything else “Friends hang sometimes, banners hang forever”( Bryant). Rather than continuing to be aloof from his teammates he began to open and be more vulnerable. He began to speak Spanish with his newfound co-star Pau Gasol, imparting his wisdom and pushing him to build tougher skin. That ability to “lead different people from all walks of life toward a common objective” (Ghildiyal) was learned because of basketball. By being a better leader, Kobe became someone who wanted to share success rather than playing with an individualistic mindset. Instead of demanding the best out of his teammates so that they can help him further his legacy, he pushed them to become the greatest version of themselves they can be for their sake. The necessity of teamwork would come to fruition in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against the Celtics with Pau Gasol’s marvelous 19 point 18 rebound performance and Ron Artest’s three pointer in the waning minute. Serving as a testament that success is greater than just the will of one person.
Growing up as a basketball player I had shoes from almost every signature NBA player. Kyrie’s, Lillard’s, LeBron’s, and Harden’s were scattered and shuffled all across my garage floor. But no matter how many of their shoes my parents bought for me, they were never the players my mind would wander to for strength and inspiration, that spot was reserved for Kobe. His words “rest at the end, not in the middle” would play in my ears everytime my hands fell to my knees during the last minutes of an overtime game. Whenever I began to doubt myself or felt the pressure of failure I would whisper the words “Mamba Mentality” to put me back in the mindframe of being in control of my own success. Those were the two words I told myself when I had to shoot game-winning free throws as a freshman at my rival schools gym. With a crippling body battered by injuries those were the words I told myself when I would step to the free throw line in the fourth quarter to grind out a state championship victory, no more than 6 weeks after Kobe had passed. By looking at Kobe Bryant’s career through the lens of “Cinderella’s” narrative we can see why the fairytale still endures today and how applicable the lessons found in sports can be. He became the icon of Los Angeles not because of his grandeur celebrity status or shot-making ability. Rather the way attained success in his life through perseverance, transformation of character, and teamwork resonated with athletes. Kobe brought unified communities by being an example of growing to achieve a better life that everyone as a whole could attach their values to.
