Sanning: Vols' Support of Kobe Bryant Speaks to His Impact

Tennessee honored Kobe Bryant with a moment of silence and by donning purple shoelaces on Tuesday. The fact that a program that was never associated with the NBA legend went to such lengths demonstrates the impact he had, says Cory Sanning.

I've waited days to gather my thoughts. 

I've laughed, I've cried. I've sobbed, I've reflected, as we all continue to do. It still doesn't seem real. I still can't process what happened on Sunday.

How could Kobe Bryant, the Black Mamba, one of the most invincible superheroes that sports has ever seen, be gone? How could his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, possibly be on the helicopter with him, along with seven other people?

It's just not right. It's just no fair. If there was anyone that could survive a helicopter crash, it would be Kobe, right?

I first learned of the news while scrolling through Twitter, when the report from TMZ was initially published. Immediately, my heart hit my stomach. I wanted to cry, but I still help hope that by some divine miracle, sources got this one wrong.

When the reality soon sank in, the tears began to flow. I haven't stopped since.

Knoxville is 2,183 miles from Los Angeles. That's 32 hours of driving and a 5-hour flight, but yet, it was as if a local legend was lost when the news broke.

At that time, the Lady Vols were taking on LSU in their annual "We Back Pat' game in honor of legendary coach, Pat Summitt. Little did they know that devastating news would await them in the locker room following the final buzzer.

Shock. Devastation. Disbelief.

Those are just some of the words that coach Kellie Harper and the players used to describe their reaction immediately following the game. 

"Our entire team was just gut wrenched," Harper said. 

Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper discussed the legacy of Kobe Bryant, the tragedy of his passing, and her team:https://t.co/XdNV6IzIhv

— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) January 26, 2020

I couldn't agree more. 

Make no mistake, I am not claiming to have known Bryant or to have had a personal relationship with him. One of my dreams was to sit down and interview him one day, to try to pick his brain and see what makes him tick.

That dream died alongside him, along with a large portion of my childhood.

Little did I know at the time, but most sports fans in the area, whether they were a fan of the NBA or not, felt the same way. 

It didn't quite hit me until I received texts and emails from people that didn't have the slightest bit of interest in sports, let alone at the professional level. To see sports fans, many of them specifically focused on college athletics, mourn the loss has been even more surreal. 

#Vols honor Kobe Bryant prior to tip-off.

Illustration was done by UT’s Jalen Johnson. pic.twitter.com/1wmSLQ39fV

— Cory Sanning (@CorySanning) January 28, 2020

A longtime tradition on UT campus is to paint "The Rock" in different schemes daily based on whatever has been going on in the world. That rock has been plastered with tributes to No. 24 since early Sunday afternoon.

Whether the same design still lives the next morning or not, Bryant is the focus of whatever scheme that Tennessee students have concocted for the past five days and it has truly been remarkable to witness.

When I first moved here in 2010, I was anxious as to whether or not I'd find a fellow basketball fan that shared the same passion for the NBA that I always have. Up until this week, I doubted that one existed outside of Memphis.

Clearly, I was wrong. 

Not only are there NBA fans in Knoxville, but there are absolute fanatics if you look hard enough. 

Bryant's passing will not be accompanied by an easy road to recovery. In fact, I doubt that I'll ever truly "get over" what happened on Sunday. It was unspeakable, unthinkable. 

If you had handed me a list that included over one million people names of who was supposed to die that day, I would have bet a substantial sum that Kobe Bean Bryant would not be apart of it.

But here we are. Basketball mourns the loss of an icon, a family mourns the lost of a husband, father and son. 

We can only step back and truly cherish the blessings that life has thrown our way, because as Sunday shows, you never know when and if the end is near. 

Rest in peace, Kobe. We'll miss you more than words could ever explain.