Santaneros Remember Kobe Bryant at City Hall Memorial Screening

The city of Santa Ana opened the doors of their Council Chamber Monday to screen the sold-out memorial of basketball legend and Orange County resident Kobe Bryant.

Members of the public present for the viewing shared their feelings on what Bryant meant to them.

Anthony Morales

“We’re basically the same age, so I got to see him as a kid. Being a kid and him being a kid coming into the league at seventeen and he grew in front of all of our eyes … he was a Laker, but he was from Orange County. He touched a lot of lives, he did a lot for the community … it’s weird, it’s like I lost a part of my childhood.”

Danny Guerrero

“I grew up watching Kobe … I knew I couldn’t get into the Staple Center, but just being in Los Angeles, making sure I’m here, watching this, it means a lot to me. I feel like I need to fill the void a little bit and this is definitely helping.”

Mayra Salmeron

“I grew up watching basketball, I actually played basketball myself … so I saw his career from start to end. Not only did I watch his career but I also watched him after his career. I lived about five minutes away from his house, so I’d run into him at Pavilions and stuff like that. He meant a lot to me obviously in a sports kind of way, but also just as a human. He was an amazing human and an amazing guy. He meant a mentality I guess, what everybody talks about, the Mamba mentality.”

Juan Diego

“I remember Kobe on the basketball court … I know a lot of people didn’t really like him and to me the way he didn’t care and pushed through everything. I guess number one being a Laker, and being a Laker fan, and Kobe being Kobe.”