Read the beginning of the Introduction from Sometimes They Even Shook Your Hand: Portraits of Champions Who Walked Among Us by John Schulian:

"In an age when it seems that no royal perk is enough for the athletes who have been crowned our heroes, the helicopter that whisks Kobe Bryant to the Lakers’ home games strikes me as more practical than self-indulgent. After all, the drive from his manse can take as long as two hours, even in a Lamborghini. What better reason to fly over the traffic jams that snarl the sprawling mess of Los Angeles, where his name and likeness are indelible in every subdivision and strip mall? L.A. is his kingdom, and a kingdom must be a hard thing to ignore when it is yours, but still I hope Kobe looks beyond it once in a while. I hope he looks until he sees the past.

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