3 Things to Learn from Kobe Bryant, Roy Halladay’s Passing
![PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 8: Former Major League pitcher Roy Halladay talks to the media prior to the game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies on August 8, 2014 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fthatballsouttahere-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F09-2F453352394-new-york-mets-v-philadelphia-phillies-jpg-850x560-dd364855c7543e2e199cd125c33609c7.jpg)
Over the past nearly 800 days, Philadelphia sports fans lost two great athletes they endeared due to unforeseen tragedy: Kobe Bryant and Roy Halladay.
From 2002 to 2011, the late Kobe Bryant and Roy Halladay were simultaneously considered among the best players in their respective games.
Bryant, across the 2001-02 and 2010-11 seasons, notched 10 All-Star appearances (four of which he was named MVP), two NBA Finals MVP awards, as well as one MVP award for the 2007-08 season.
Also, the Philadelphia native notched 25 Player of the Week awards and 12 Player of the Month awards, among other achievements, ultimately highlighted with his three championships during that time frame.
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For Halladay, he was just as great. He earned winning decisions in more than half of the games he appeared in (170 out of 304), not to mention he notched 63 complete games and 18 shutouts, along with eight All-Star appearances and two Cy Young Awards.
The two respectively retired following the 2015-16 and 2013 seasons. Surely, they were Hall of Fame-bound. Yet, tragically, both never lived to see the day. Halladay was posthumously inducted last year, and just one year later, the same for the Lower Merion alumnus in Bryant.
At the time of sudden passing, it’s difficult to cope with the whirlwind of emotions that overcome us. Who would have thought that when Phillies fans cheered on their ace in 2010, as he recorded just the second-ever post-season no-hitter, that he would pass away just seven years later? Who would have thought that when Bryant played in his final NBA game on April 13, 2016, scoring 60 points, that he would only have a little over 1,380 days of life left to live?
There are many things to learn from Bryant and Halladay’s sudden passing.
1. Appreciate greatness while we still can
![MIAMI – MAY 29: Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies is congratulated by his teammates after he pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, May 29, 2010, in Miami, Florida. Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game for the 20th perfect game in MLB history. (Photo by Robert Vigon/Florida Marlins/MLB Photos via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fthatballsouttahere-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F101563192-850x560-bbbbbac8bf54d29232de10fcce9e12b1.jpg)
It’s easy to forget just how good Halladay was in 2010 and 2011, when the Phillies had other All-Star caliber pitchers in the rotation, including Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.
It’s not without question that Phillies fans loved Halladay and tuned in each time he took the mound, but at the time, did we really take into account of just how great he really was?
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On the all-time list, Halladay ranks 44th in career WAR for pitchers (65.4), 110th in wins (203), 19th in win-loss percentage (.659), 80th in bases on balls per nine innings pitched (1.938), 71st in strikeouts (2,117), among other feats. He truly was one of the game’s best that it has ever seen.
Likewise, we saw and appreciated Bryant for his accomplishments on and off the court. But, it’s important for us to look at his similar accolades: an 18-time All-Star, two-time NBA scoring champion, five-time NBA Finals champion, 15-time All-NBA nods, 12-time All-Defensive nods … and the list goes on.
RELATED | Roy Halladay’s teammates, family remember the Hall of Fame Phillies pitcher
In commenting on him achieving success, Bryant said in a Showtime documentary, “When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that.”
Bryant continues, “It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”
In retrospect, when Bryant and Halladay were at the pinnacle point of their careers, and even post-career, we could have and should have appreciated them more … not just for what they gave to us as sports fans, but as humans as a whole.
2. Never take life for granted
![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fthatballsouttahere-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F1196594259-850x560-ee7b8184ae135c6c54e7732d6263b69a.jpg)
Bryant and Halladay’s playing days were over, but their greatness was just getting started.
Their deaths are a reminder that life is not guaranteed, even for those who seem unbreakable such as what the former Lakers and Phillies stars were at the peak of their careers.
We should realize that if we want to do something, say attend a sporting event, we should, because there’s no guarantee we will have the same opportunity down the line.
Chiara Gizzi writes that the only reason people “adopt complacency towards the beauty that surrounds us” is that they are caught up in their minds and “therefore fail to actually see it.”
Rather than being in the moment, Gizzi says that we are often too busy thinking about the next place we have to be, what we are going to eat for the next meal, or “what someone said to us a day, a week, a month or even a year ago.”
Gizzi continues, “All of this mental chatter pulls us away from the beauty that lies in the present, and causes us to become disgruntled and unappreciative. We lose touch with our gratitude and we end up taking things for granted, almost by accident.”
Had we lived more in the moment, we would have appreciated Bryant and Halladay more for who they were as athletes and human beings. There are plenty of other athletes, that while not close to greatness as what Bryant and Halladay achieved, they come close. Several play in the City of Philadelphia currently. We should appreciate them for who they are and for what they provide.
It is important that we live in the moment each day, as tomorrow is no guarantee.
3. It’s more than just a game.
![TORONTO, ON – MARCH 29: The family of the late Roy Halladay #32 of the Toronto Blue Jays during a pre-game ceremony honoring his memory as his widow Brandy Halladay and their two sons Braden and Ryan walk out onto the field on Opening Day during MLB game action against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on March 29, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Roy Halladay;Brandy Halladay;Braden Halladay;Ryan Halladay](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fthatballsouttahere-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F940557348-850x560-b8ba6ee1c62361819acffce8414f7600.jpg)
Athletes on the court or on the baseball diamond face similar battles as we do in life.
If they have a flat tire, they have to find a way to get it repaired in enough time so it does not affect their schedule for the rest of the day and week. Similar to Kobe’s situation, if their daughter has a sporting event she need to get to, they have to find a way to get there on time.
It’s OK to be upset after a loss, or thrilled after a win, but the next time we “boo” an athlete on the field, we should take a step back and realize that they are just as human as we are. These players are not statues on the field. They are actual people with emotions who feel the highest of highs and the lowest of lows just as we do.
Bryant once said in a Showtime documentary, “There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice.”
He adds, “What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that — family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend. being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.”
At his Wall of Fame induction ceremony speech, Halladay’s wife, Brandy, said, “I think that Roy would want everyone to know that people are not perfect. We are all imperfect and flawed in one way or another.”
“We all struggle, but with hard work, humility and dedication, imperfect people can still have perfect moments.”
Rest in peace, Kobe and Roy.