Kobe's expensive website?

I think that this was some other guy’s decision to charge 25.

If it was indeed Kobe’s decision, then it’s probably just his way of getting himself, and his website, more attention. This isn’t anything surprising.

…he has so much media and stuff he just turns the reigns over almost entirely to his “people”. Also, you make a good point in that it could be there to keep the flamers out.

But they do some pretty cool stuff. I know members (not personally) that got to go to a meet and greet and get some stuff signed. I also know they’ve given away Laker tickets which is pretty cool. Personally though, $25 aint worth it. I would rather come here for free and talk about all the Lakers then pay $25 to talk about one.

aren’t you allowed to join the site for free? You get to post on his messageboard and stuff, but you don’t get access to the free t-shirts, contests, etc.

or at least … that’s what I remembered it was like a year ago when I joined (before they revamped his website). I didn’t have to pay the member fee, but I did get to post on the message boards.

I don’t know if the rules changed or not. But it was pretty cool, talking to Kobe fans all around the world – I believe it was around the Olympics time so we had a lot of fun rooting for Kobe and Team USA.

if the membership fee is there, it might be a way to discourage haters/spammers/flamers from posting on the website.

although i have to admit the original fee which was between 40 and 50 dollars is too steep. Still, I’ve seen the pictures of those fans getting to meet kobe personally and all that fun stuff, so I can see the incentive.

You know it’s truly the offseason when people like Kelly Dwyer (who’s a pompous monkey butt) have nothing better to do than talk about how expensive or not expensive it is to be a member on Kobe Bryant’s website.

I mean YAWN wake me up when the season starts. How is this even relevant news? (not criticizing you wondahap)

And who is he to say whether an athlete charges membership fees or not? Leave the man alone and write about more important NBA analysis.

He complains that people disagrees with him, yet he says, “we can all agree” … please, stop assuming for everyone. your word is not the law and no one has to agree with you. that’s why you write columns, to generate discussion. Sorry for the rant, but the guy bothers me a lot.

I was apart of the site until he put that fee on the site but I understand because I would do the same. Before that the site was chaos and I barely commented and some of the stuff people would post on his site was ridiculous. 25 dollars is too much for me, I rather visit free sites to talk about the Lakers and just watch the Lakers, there is no immediate need for me to be apart of the site.

this is pretty lame. charging people to visit his website? i don’t like this at all. as for what wondahbap said, i disagree. criticism comes with being a high profile athlete. he’s under the microscope and certain decisions he’s made in the past as well as his own character are reasons that people are critical of him. should they have the right to post their displeasure? absolutely. this is a democracy; people’s opinions, whether good or bad, should be heard. this is as bad as lebron’s confiscation of those “dunk” tapes. maybe kobe should keep his mouth shut and not take a poke at lebron, especially now that he himself has taken another misstep.

it makes him seem full of himself, that’s what bothers me. for a guy who has been trying to rehabilitate his image, and his pretty much succeeded in doing so, i fee is a bad PR move. should we roll the red carpet for him as well, and maybe be forced to pay extra in games he scores over 40? i mean come on, he’s already a rich man no need to get greedy. regardless, it isn’t something i’d pay for. i’m simply speaking out for those who are in fact in love with him. as great as he is, he’s just another person and just another player to me.

It is so easy to pass judgement especially about money when everything in this country revolves around money. I just think that it is a bit hypocritical to look at this in a negative way when in reality half of the people judging him would do the exact same thing. I could care less about the fee. The best part about it is that I have a choice of whether or not I want to pay it. I for one would pay 25 dollars to be a member of his site.

It is funny how when Kobe’s video came out about him talking shit about Bynum how Laker fans ridiculed him. Especially for him wanting to leave. But when he didn’t restructure his contract so that the Lakers could sign both Ariza and Odom he also got judged. What is it? Do you want him to get involved in management decisions or don’t you? Truth is, no matter what he does (even amongst Laker fans) he can never satisfy everyone. Let the man do his thing. He got us 4 Championship banners. That will last me a life time. I got 4 DVD’s of memories to prove it. I could care less about a miserable 25 dollars. If that is the price to pay to show support for him and the Lakers than so be it.

Solution: Don’t pay, and don’t visit.

my boo looks good in that pic.

Resorting to the veiled ad hominem…

I love it (read, “I despise it”) when someone writes something like “We can all agree that [insert something that is evidently designed to be controversial],” because the clear implication is that if you don’t agree, you must be some kind of moron who reads his basketblog over dialup from your trailer park in East Podunkville. Sometimes it slips out (goodness knows it happens enough when I write), but you still try to avoid it.

I’m a big believer in market forces for this kind of thing. If people end up liking it, it won’t make a dingo’s kidneys’ worth of difference what Kelly Dwyer thinks, and if they don’t, he won’t have had a thing to do with it. But the idea that there’s something intrinsically wrong with having a premium section on a player’s Web site—well, as Kelly Dwyer might say, only a moron would think that.