Italian Owner Sabatini Hasn't Given Up On Kobe
CBS Sports
Royce Young
So... maybe Virtus Bologna hasn't given up on Kobe yet. Tuesday, by all appearances, the ridiculous pursuit of Kobe Bryant seemed to be fizzling out. Claudio Sabatini, the team's owner, finally had packed it in.
But not so fast. It's not done yet. Well, not done according to Virtus Bologna. It's probably been done in Kobe's mind for a long time. Via Sportando, a press release by the team sent out Wednesday said this:
"Virtus informs that the negotiations are still on. The two parts are working on a deal who will try to define the arrival of Kobe Bryant in Italy in the middle of November."
Give. It. Up. Good grief. If Virtus ever does land Kobe for a game -- or even a quarter -- there's going to be a championship parade scheduled I bet. This has been quite the saga. An annoying one for sure, but credit Virtus and Sabatini -- they don't seem to take no for an answer. Persistence. Maybe it'll pay off.
I think what sometimes happens in these situations though is that a team will make it seem that negotiations are ongoing to drive up interest in the team. Besiktas did this well in its perceived pursuit of Kobe and Kevin Durant. I don't think they were ever going to sign either, but the appearance of it gave confidence to fans and sponsors. So maybe it's all one brilliant PR ploy from Sabatini.
You know what they need to do? Get an infidelity site to sponsor them. That'll get it done.
