Before the game, the NFL paid tribute to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant,
MIAMI GARDENS — As the world continues to mourn the shocking death of former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, the NFL honored him before the start of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium.
About 45 minutes before kickoff, the teams completed warmups and lined up at opposite 24-yard lines for a moment of silence. No. 24 was one of Bryant’s two numbers, along with No. 8, that he wore during his 20-year, soon-to-be NBA Hall of Fame career.
Bryant, along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, died on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in California. Bryant was 41.
Along with Bryant, former NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman was honored during the moment of silence. Doleman lost his battle with cancer last Tuesday.
On two of Hard Rock Stadium’s four large screens, Doleman was shown while the names of the nine victims of the helicopter crash were shown on the others. They read: “John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli. Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Sarah and Payton Chester. Christina Mauser. Ara Zobayan.”
In last Wednesday’s “State of the NFL” news conference, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell noted that Bryant and Doleman would be remembered “in a respectful way.”
“I don’t think just Los Angeles is mourning the loss of Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a special person,” Goodell said.
“I did have the opportunity to meet him. He obviously brought a lot to our world, and I think all of us not only feel for the tragic events to his family but as well as everyone else who was a passenger on that helicopter. It’s hard to understand and it’s hard to process.”