Kobe Bryant se retira del baloncesto después de 20 temporadas en la NBA y escribe esta emotiva carta de despedida al baloncesto.
En inglés:
Dear Basketball,
From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
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 six-year-old boy
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 court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played 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 you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.
And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1
Love you always,
Kobe
En inglés:
Dear Basketball,
From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
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 six-year-old boy
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 court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.
I played 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 you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.
And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.
And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1
Love you always,
Kobe
Traducción al español:
Querido Baloncesto,
Desde el momento en que empecé a coger los calcetines enrollados de mi padre y tiraba tiros imaginarios para ganar un partido en el Gran Forum de LA, sabía que una cosa era real:
Me enamoré de ti
Un amor tan profundo que te di mi todo. Mi mente, mi cuerpo, mi espíritu y mi alma.
Como un niño de seis años de edad, profundamente enamorado de ti, nunca vi el final del túnel. Sólo me veía corriendo fuera de uno.
Y por ello corrí, corrí arriba y abajo todas las pistas, después de cada balón perdido, por ti.
Tú me preguntaste por mi empuje, yo te di mi corazón, porque ello vendría con mucho más.
He jugado a través del sudor y del dolor, no porque me llamara el desafío, sino porque TÚ me llamaste.
He hecho todo por TI.
Porque eso es lo que tú haces, cuando alguien te hace sentir tan vivo como tú me lo has hecho sentir a mi.
Tu diste a un niño de seis años su sueño Laker, y yo siempre te amaré por ello
Pero no puedo amarte obsesivamente por mucho más tiempo
Esta temporada te daré todo lo que me queda dentro
Mi corazón puede soportar los golpes, mi mente puede manejar la rutina, pero mi cuerpo sabe que es la hora de decir adiós.
Y eso está bien. Estoy listo para dejarte ir. Quiero que lo sepas. Asi que, ahora sí que ambos podemos saborear cada momento que nos queda juntos. Lo bueno y lo malo. Nos hemos dado todo lo que tenemos.
Y ambos sabemos que no importa lo que haga después. Siempre seré aquel niño, con los calcetines enrollados, la basura en la esquina, 5 segundos en el reloj, el balón en mis manos. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1
Te amo, siempre,
Kobe