The legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident on Sunday morning at 9:46 local time. Alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people, he was on his way to Mamba Academy for a practice with his team, when his private Sikorsky S-76 chopper crashed due to bad weather conditions.
The whole world has been in mourning ever since. The player, fans, analytics, and TV hosts shared in their tragic loss, as numerous tributes and messages flooded social media. Thousands of people in Los Angeles made shrines and tributes in front of the Staples Center, biding one final goodbye to their idol and the icon of sport.
However, his profile on Instagram, as well as that of his wife Vanessa, exploded in recent days. Before the tragedy, he had more than 13 million followers. Now, he has more than 19.9, a 6-million increase. This is unique, and nobody knows why so many people followed a man who is no longer alive.
At the moment of his passing, Vanessa had just over 3 million followers. She saw a significant increase as well, and currently has more than 8.4 million. Her average post with family members had around 300,000 likes, but her official post following the tragedy has more than 9.5 million.
This is the touching message she used as a caption:
“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.
We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.
I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality.
To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family”
“Okay, is this normal?”, “What is wrong with people?”, are just some of the comments regarding this phenomenon. This is most likely meant as a form of support and tribute to the Bryant family.
Nina Smith 