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Kobe and the intern
It’s 2006, I’m interning at KABC Los Angeles in the sports department. One amazing perk that made everything worthwhile was going to sports games, watching them, and then going to get postgame sound. That year I went to several Laker, Clipper, Dodger, and Angels games. Most of the time, it would just be me, the intern, and a photographer. Such a treat for an LA guy. Free games and then hanging with players, amazing. No wonder I wanted to work in news.
So one night in February, I’m at the Staples Center to watch the Lakers play against the Memphis Grizzles. I watch the entire game from the press box and before it ends, I head to the Lakers' locker room. I’m fanboying so hard. I get to go inside the Laker locker room. Now it might sound gross and sweaty, but as a Laker fan all my life, this was bigger than the Sistine Chapel for me. The locker room is not like the high school locker room, this is an NBA team. So it’s state of the art, air condition works, and actually smells nice.
While waiting in the locker room, I stare at the names above each locker. Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, and finally my eyes fall on Kobe’s locker. The Lakers finally start sputtering out of the showers. We interview a few Lakers…
