Absolutely hated Kobe as a player, not just because I hate the Lakers, but because of the way he played. But since he's retired, seeing and hearing so many things from him over the last few years, I think you'd be hard pressed to not find him extremely endearing and likable. He just seemed like a really good dude who went above and beyond to help the community and those who crossed his path. And regardless of his past, he also seemed like a great family guy who his kids worshiped. That's not a given, especially for star athletes or celebrities.
Just really heartbreaking. I guess the good thing is the more you hear from witness accounts, etc. the more it seems like everything happened really fast and maybe without much notice. That's way better than something like the helicopter having mechanical problems and the passengers knowing for minutes that they were going to crash. The thought of those kids seeing something like that coming, and trying to imagine what was going on, would tear me apart.
An extremely sad day for the OC community as well, with all the victims living somewhere close by. John Altobelli coached at OCC, which is right down the road from me. And the assistant basketball coach who was on the helictoper, was a HB resident who resided not very far from me either. Feel extremely sad for their families, who lost a mother, a father, or a sister, or in one case all three.