"I played despite the sweat and the pain not to win a challenge but because YOU called me. I did everything for YOU because that's what you do when someone makes you feel alive like you made me feel. You made a 6-year-old child live his dream of being a Laker, and for that, I will love you forever. But I can't love you anymore with the same obsession. This season is all I have left. My heart can endure the battle, my mind can handle the fatigue, but my body knows that it's time to say goodbye. And that's okay. I'm ready to let you go. And I want you to know this so we can both savor every moment we have left together." As a Jazz fan, I sent him to hell quite a few times over the years, but at his last game, I know I'll cry like a baby because I've grown up alongside him. This year, Kobe Bryant retires. If anyone has any doubts about the legendary status in question, just go watch anything A.