Playing through the pain

On Saturday Alisha and I sat down to watch the Laker – Jazz game.  We did this with full knowledge of the pain and sadness that usually accompanies this match up.  Usally Kobe has a way of breakdancing his way down the court and making the Jazz look like the top high school team from Garfield County.

I had heard that Kobe had broken his finger in the previous nights game, but would “play through the pain” instead of healing up his finger.  Little did I know that we would be honored to see so many angished shots of Mr. Bryant during the telecast.

I know what must have been going through his mind at this moment.  Micheal Jordans still renowned game where he “played through the pain”.  It was game 5 of the 1997 finals, Jordan or “His Airness” (is how he likes to be referred as) was near on the verge of losing the upper hand in the series, when Mr. Air (for short) came down with an aweful sickness. So much so that he needed to be helped to and from the bench in order to “save” the Bulls from defeat.

This reminds me of another elite athlete of our generation, and his sacrafice of self to save the team from defeat.

Coach Klein, after giving a pep talk to the team about how they did this together as a team, and that they can win as a team, turns to Bobby and says “You’re the only one that can win this game for us”.  I wonder if Phil Jackson takes the same approach with his star players as Coach Klein?

Much to our surprise the Jazz were able to put together a full game, and were miraculously victorious.  And while they may not be going to the finals this year, at least its good to see that they are able to pull together as a team.