LOS ANGELES -- For 8 a.m. clustered between the myriad of purple and gold paraphernalia in a small store underneath the Staples Center, it was hard to miss 26-year-old Joey Eufracio.
This Kobe fan who traveled 1,600 miles and spent $2,000 on gear still doesn’t have a game ticket
“That’s how much I like him,” Joey Eufracio said of his purchase.
Tyler Tynes/SB Nation
Eufracio didn't come out of the Team LA store with just any special purchase. He bought three custom, snake-sublimated commemorative Kobe Bryant jerseys. The black ones with gold trimming and the special side panels showing off multiple accolades of Bryant's storied career. It even came with the black and gold collectors box with some fur tucked where the jersey could be folded.
For $824.80, it probably should get Eufracio and his family, who flew from McAllen, Texas, and had two additional connecting flights, into Bryant’s last game.
“I own number two of the 248 they made,” Eufracio told SB Nation. “It makes the trip worth it, but I just have to get a ticket to tonight’s game now.”
And Eufracio didn’t leave the store with just one jersey. He dropped over $2,000 on three and got a few shirts, too, just for the road.
"Everyone knows I'm a Lakers fan in McAllen, Texas," he said. "I have quite a few (pieces of Kobe and Lakers gear). Let's just say in a three or four month span last year, around this time, when I was buying Kobe stuff, I spent almost ten grand on Kobe stuff. I knew he would retire."
The Anschutz Entertainment Company, or AEG, partnered with adidas to bring the jersey to life, along with a few other treats for loyal Lakers subscribers to collect in the wee hours of the morning prior to Bryant’s last stand. Eufracio wasn’t the only one dropping cash for a special piece of Kobe cloth. The 248 boxed jerseys sold out in under an hour.
Eufracio and his girlfriend hopped on a 6 a.m. flight on Tuesday, flew from McAllen to Dallas to Denver to Los Angeles and arrived around 1:30 p.m., eventually camping out the store with other fans. Sean Ryan, the Vice President of Merchandising for AEG, said the limited edition gear display at the Team LA store wasn’t just a spattering of leftover goods.
This was an eight-month collaboration with adidas to give fans a piece of Bryant’s legacy -- just for under $500 for replica jerseys or $10,000 for commemorative coins.
“We came up with two concepts, one that was a box jersey, limited edition and only made 248 of them, the other was a retail type jersey for $424 and with 824 units,” Ryan said. “It’s a snake-sublimated skin jersey. It looks gorgeous. It’s something Adidas and us are very proud of to commemorate Kobe.”
AEG works with the Staples Center directly for merchandising and marketing. They’ve been associated with Bryant since 1999. Eufracio said the money he spent was well worth the fuss for what others wouldn’t do for fandom.
“He’s the best. I don’t know how else to put it,” Eufracio said, once again peering down at his limited edition prize. “That’s how much I like him.”
* * *
See More:
