Very superstitious Eagles fan Kobe Bryant shares spoken word version of fight song

Is anyone as intensely ready for today’s Eagles vs. Rams matchup as Kobe Bryant?

Kobe Bryant, native son of Philadelphia and adopted son of Los Angeles, has made his allegiances clear in advance of Sunday’s Eagles-Rams game. He is decidedly Team Eagles, performing a very intense, spoken-word-inspired rendition of the “Fly, Eagles, Fly” fight song in what is presumably a custom Kobe Eagles jersey.

(This, of course, should come as no surprise. Bryant has always worn his Eagles fandom on his sleeve in a style befitting the fashion of the era.)

Kobe’s performance is not exactly energetic so you’d be forgiven if you don’t finish the clip revved and ready to mess up the Rams.

Lest you get concerned about Kobe having a mellowing influence on the team itself, Bryant gave the players a separate 30-minute Mamba pep talk on Friday.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kobe told the team he “wanted to make his opponents so miserable that they would need to find another job” and presumably advised the Eagles to adopt the same Mamba Mentality. In more productive and perhaps applicable advice, Bryant told Sports Illustrated’s Jenny Vrentas that he told the players to:

"Focus on the detail and the small little things, how to execute, execute, execute. Go over those things so much, and download them so much in your mind, that when you step out on the field to perform you can forget about them, because they’re just naturally there. That was the big message"

Kobe also told Vrentas he was “on cloud nine” talking to the team and walking in to “see all the green—good green, not that Celtic green. Good-guy green.”

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Like all true sports fans, Kobe is crazy superstitious. He self-describes as “neurotic” around games and will stay in the same spot as long as his team is playing well but move immediately if things go south. Additionally, he is nervous even to talk about the Eagles this year, for fear of jinxing them. (But he will say he thinks the team has championship character.)

In related news, is Eagles Fan Kobe Bryant the most and only relatable Kobe Bryant?