It is iconic It is a famous landmark. It is New York.
Long before the World Trade Center became a symbol of the Big Apple, there was a building 102 stories tall built in 1931.
The Empire State Building.
I think my first trip there was for some family event. The view was amazing. You could see so much of the city from the Observation Deck on the 86th floor.
It was the place Deborah Kerr was heading toward to meet Cary Grant in "An Affair to Remember". Tom Hanks finally met Meg Ryan there too in "Sleepless in Seattle".
The top of the building was lit up in colors other than white for the first time back in 1976 to celebrate our country’s Bicentennial.
Since that time, it has been lit up for holidays, charities (I know, I know there have been some charities overlooked but that is not the point of this post) and some other events.
In the last two weeks, it has been lit up three different time for three sports figures for very different reasons.
First, it was to honor #2 on the New York Yankees. The Captain. Now future Hall of Famer, Derek Jeter. Jeter played his whole career as a Yankee. Broke all kinds of club records. He was Mr. November. He was the guy who played as hard in April as he did in October. Well respected for his professionalism. He will enter the Hall of Fame this summer with a first place vote on 99.7% of the sport writers ballots (I would love to know who the one holdout was).
His teammates loved him.
Other teams respected him.
And the fans from The Bronx (who can boo as easily as cheer) appreciated him.
He said from the time he was a kid he always wanted to play Short Stop for the Yankees.
How many of us get to live out our childhood dreams?
Next to have to have the Empire State lit up in his honor was Eli Manning.
#10.
The guy who for 18 years never missed a start due to injury.
He started in 210 consecutive games for the New York Giants.
Eli took the Giants to two Super Bowls against the New England Patriots. He went in as the underdog and won the both.
He was MVP twice.
Eli knew after this past season, it was time to retire.
Will he be voted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio? I hope so.
But I am sure of one thing, if I needed a player in a clutch situation during the final minutes of a close or important game, Eli would be my guy.
He seemed almost invincible in the final minutes of a game.
The last person in the week to have the lights up in his honor was of course, Kobe Bryant.
A sudden loss of not just one life but nine lives.
All important and heroes to their families in their own right.
Yes, having an accident that took both Kobe and his daughter Gianna was tragic. But so was the loss of three members of one family, two members of another, a mom and the pilot.
Nine people who left so many lives altered.
Young women who have not really had a chance to experience life.
Children left without a parent.
Spouses left without their partner.
I heard the phrase Mamba Mentality so often this week.
I looked it up to see what it meant.
Kobe on more than one occasion explained, "To sum up what Mamba Mentality is, it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself."
I love that thought.
All three athletes had Mamba Mentality. You saw it in Derek, Eli and Kobe.
You don't have to be an athlete to strive to have a Mamba Mentality.
We each can try to be the best version of ourselves every day. whether it be as a family member, friend, coworker or even as a stranger.
My goal this week is to be the best version of myself, let's see how it goes.
See you next week.
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