January 17, at Boston's TD North Shore Garden Arena, the Boston Celtics were set to host the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.
But tonight, the arena's "master" was not Boston's God of War, Goodwin—it was Kobe Bryant!
The atmosphere in the arena was especially electric tonight because the organizers had specially prepared a highly commemorative jersey for the fans—a replica of the cover jersey from the 2008 Yellow-Green War.
The jersey featured Kobe Bryant, who had led the Los Angeles Lakers at the time, and Goodwin, who had led the Boston Celtics, standing on its left and right sides respectively.
The design perfectly brought the historic moment of that classic showdown to life before everyone's eyes. Its symbolic meaning was obvious, and it hit the mark perfectly.
Kobe Bryant, tonight's one and only star, had been arranged as the final player to make his entrance.
The moment he stepped onto the court, the passion of the entire arena erupted like a volcano. The fans were beside themselves with excitement, chanting his name in unison: "Kobe!" "Kobe!" "Kobe!" ... The cries rose and fell like surging waves, each one louder than the last, echoing into the heavens and deafeningly loud, as if they were about to shatter the dome of TD North Shore Garden Arena and reach the sky.
For the vast majority of fans, if they had to choose the Boston Celtics' strongest and most memorable opponent of recent years, then without a doubt, the Los Angeles Lakers would be the pick.
The most crucial reason, naturally, was that the Los Angeles Lakers had the all-powerful legendary superstar, Kobe Bryant.
Those fans who had witnessed those thrilling matchups still clearly remembered the tense scenes from 2006, when Goodwin and Kobe Bryant fiercely battled for the scoring title.
And there were also