I don't want this to sound like a defense of the ungrateful assholes lurking in the shadows waiting to deface the likeness of the most talented basketball player of all time who did nothing more than willingly chose to join a franchise that, history notwithstanding, couldn't be less deserving of said talents. If you feel so strongly about Kobe Bryant's legacy as a Laker that you take to the vandalization of art in its honor then your sports' fandom might legitimately be in need of a lobotomy. Especially since the foreshadowing of the fortuitous future that you can't bear to witness, for whatever terribly idiotic reason, is mere months away from coming to fruition regardless of much money you waste at Home Depot. That being said, it's not some sort of secret that Kobe Bryant's resume is so far beyond reproach in Los Angeles due, almost solely, to how much the most front-running fanbase in all of sports cherishes winning. LeBron's 3-6 record in the NBA Finals is wildly overblown as a knock against him, but it's certainly not a surprise that the city of superficial celebrity typically treats the showing of locally-sourced rings as a right of passage. All due respect to the amazing artists, who wasted no time in crafting two intricate and awesome murals, but had they let LeBron actually put on a Lakers' jersey before painting a larger-than-life size version of him in one than we are probably talking about a much lower probability of having their work almost instantly go to waste. Sports' fans in general are fickle beasts, but those that reside in Los Angeles in particular take that mindset to egregiously entitled lengths with their undying loyalty to victory above all else. One game-winning fadeaway that tops off a 40+ point triple-double and the Kobe getting the most consideration will be the $90 slab of beef they order in celebration of their team's return to NBA relevance. I understand an artist's urge to paint the King on his new throne given that the magnitude of his arrival surely makes for a hell of a muse, but how many times we need to see property destroyed before taking the hint that the City Of Angels, as a whole, won't stop demonizing LeBron until his presence starts paying actual dividends? I might disagree with the close-mindedness of the approach, but - considering it's turned a flawed player and person into some sort of guiltless Godsend - it would be foolish to continue clearing Benjamin Moore's stock of purple and gold paint while ignoring that it exists.
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