Kobe Bryant's retirement tour fittingly ends as a footnote

(FORBES) One of the most well-known fables from classicalfolklore is the story of theBoy Who Cried Wolf. The tale is abouta shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock of sheep. Time and time again, the villagers come running up the hill to help the boy chase the wolf away, only to realize they’ve been tricked. Finally, when a wolf actually appears, nobody answers the boy’s calls for help.

TheKobe Bryantfarewell tour seems destined to end in a similar fashion Wednesday.

After nearly fivemonths of basking in constant adulation while the Lakers stumbled through their worst season in franchise history, Bryant’s last game is a footnote on the NBA calendar. The biggest story of the evening will be the Golden State Warriors vying for their record-setting 73rd win, and rightfully so.

ESPN announced Mondayit will shift Bryant’s final game to ESPN2 while the Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies will simultaneously tip-off at 10:30 p.m. on the main network. The move is symbolic –– almost every household that getsESPNalso has access to its sister station–– but it couldn’t be more fitting. Throughout the entirety of this season, Bryant’s farewell tour has served as a distraction to the Lakers’ abysmal campaign. It only makes sense that his last ever game represents nothing more than commercial break fodder for the majority of NBA fans.

In late November, Bryant formally announced in afirst-person poemon the Players’ Tribune that he willretire at the end of the season. Since then, one of the greatest competitors in NBA history has spent the bulk of his time receiving parting gifts from opposing players and hoisting up bricks while the Lakers lose by double digits. It’s been an odd imageindeed.

Like any all-time great, Bryant is deserving of adoration on his way out. But the praise has turned into hero worship, and eventually that gets tuned out.

The interminable farewelltour now seems to be a fixture in professional sports. In 2013, Mariano Rivera announced hisretirementmonths in advance, receiving presents such as arocking chair made of broken batswhile the Yankees missed the playoffs for the second time since 1995. The following year, Derek Jeter announced in Spring Training he would hang it upat the end of the season, which led to him starting at shortstop on a nightly basis despite his measly offensive production. This summer, Red Sox fans will be forced to sit through David Ortiz’s prolonged retirement march even if the team finishes in last-place for the third time in four seasons.