More than a year has passed since I jumped out of bed to rush to Fort Bonifacio to catch a glimpse of Kobe Bryant. I said I wouldn’t, but on the eve of his 2nd visit to Manila, I found myself scrambling for passes to any of his planned appearances. Fanboy-ism makes you do things you didn’t know you were capable of doing.

Thanks to some of my friends in Summit Media, I was lucky enough to score a few passes to Kobe Bryant’s private workout at the Ultra. I was already on my way to pick up my tickets when another friend asked me if I wanted to go to his 2pm appearance at Nike Park in Bonifacio High Street. I immediately called, and in the next half hour, found myself driving all the way to the Nike office in Rufino Tower in Makati.

Special passes. You don’t call em’ special for nothing.

When I arrived at Nike Park in Bonifacio High Street, people had already enveloped the small setup they had there. The sheer number of Kobe Bryant gear had almost made me feel guilty I was just wearing the shirt off my back. Unfortunately, there was no more time to pick up Kobe Bryant gear anywhere. They had already sealed off the store because as it turned out, he was going to emerge from the main entrance of the store.

After an hour of waiting under the thankfully gloomy sky, what followed was (and I apologize for my own emotional outburst), an uncontrollable roar of appreciation from the Kobe Bryant faithful. Hope you guys appreciate the high-res Kobe Bryant interview.

Kobe Live in Manila Interview at Nike Park Bonifactio High Street from Alvin Jimenez

Picture post upcoming so stay tuned!

*Thanks to Ro Manalo and Liza Lagman for scoring me the tickets and passes!

*Damn the kid and girl who each got a signed shoe from Kobe.