Bi-Lingual
Not only is Kobe regarded as one of the best players to grace the game, he’s also bi-lingual! How does he have time for it all, do you wonder? While growing up in Italy, he learned Italian and became fluent! It must have been necessary when playing basketball, and making new friends. Kobe continues to use the beautiful language to this day, so after 35 years, he is still fluent in 2 languages! Man, are we impressed! We guess that as the saying for languages goes, “you either use it, or lose it”!
Bi-Lingual
His Name Has Special Meaning
Where did the name Kobe come from anyway? Would you believe us if we told you that he was named after a restaurant and a type of Japanese meat? We swear, it’s true! His parents were big fans of a Japanese steakhouse in Philly named ‘Kobe’, dining there so often, they decided to name their only son after the joint! The restaurant got their name from the Japanese meat, Kobe Beef, which comes from Japanese Black cattle. Joe Bryant confirmed the rumors to Sports Illustrated in a 1998 interview, and said “I don’t know if I should say that he was named after them, they might want the rights to the name”…could you imagine! Can you believe that the restaurant temporarily changed their name to ‘The Answer’ just before the 2001 NBA Finals starring the 76ers vs. the Lakers? Pretty ironic, right? Even crazier, the Japanese Steakhouse changed it’s name back to ‘Kobe’ after the Lakers and Kobe Bryant won the series…can you say superstitious?
His Name Has Special Meaning
