- Thousands of Los Angeles Lakers fans showed up at the Staples Center to attend the memorial honoring NBA icon Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
- Some fans who didn't have tickets just to be around others who felt the same loss in the wake of Bryant's sudden death.
- "Compared to other leaders, not to get political, he did something that no one else in this world has ever been able to do," one Lakers fan told Insider. "We come from all walks of life, races, nationalities, but we're all here."
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Thousands flocked to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to attend the memorial of the late Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Despite the arena having a maximum capacity of 20,000 seats, some fans showed up without a ticket in hopes of finding last-minute tickets to get inside.
Joanne Obligacion, who is from the Bay area, told Insider that she took a flight down to Los Angeles
"I didn't win a ticket because I got wait-listed, and I tried on four different devices, but I ain't got no luck," she said. "I honestly came to see if people were going to sell tickets, but there was no luck with that either."
Nonetheless, Obligacion thought she would stick around outside the stadium to be around other Los Angeles Lakers fans who were also grieving over the loss of the NBA icon.
"I thought I would just come out here to be with the people who are going to be here to celebrate his life," she said.
Verania Garcia, from Orange County, California, told Insider she still booked a hotel overnight to save herself the drive, despite not being able to buy a ticket online. Although she wasn't afforded the opportunity to memorialize the basketball icon inside the Staples Center, Garcia said she still wanted to be around fellow Lakers fans.
"This man was able to unite the world," Garcia said of the turnout at the event. "Compared to other leaders, not to get political, he did something that no one else in this world has ever been able to do. We come from all walks of life, races, nationalities, but we're all here."
"Everybody is just embracing this day. Everyone is feeling heavy," she continued.
The memorial was held on February 24, a significant date to both Kobe and Gianna. The date, 2/24, represented Bryant's jersey number, No. 24, and No. 2 was his daughter's.
Tickets also reflected the two jersey numbers, as they were priced at three tiers - $224 each, 2 for $224, and $24.02 each, according to a Lakers press release. Fans were chosen at random to receive an invitation to participate in the public ticket release.
The proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, an organization dedicated to "further Kobe and Gianna Bryant's legacy through charitable endeavors in sports," according to the foundation's website.
The press release "strongly advised" fans who didn't receive a ticket to stay home, as there were no overflow viewing areas outside the stadium.
- Read more:
- Michael Jordan provided a moment of levity at the memorial service for Kobe and Gigi Bryant: 'Now he's got me - I'll have to look at another crying meme'
- 'When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died': Michael Jordan remembers fellow NBA legend Kobe Bryant like a 'little brother'
- 'He was my everything': Vanessa Bryant said she and Kobe had 'hoped to grow old together' in a tearful eulogy to her late husband
- 'She was so full of life': Vanessa Bryant laments not being able to watch her daughter grow up at the memorial for Gianna and Kobe