Granite Hills High graduate produces hit YouTube parody - Victorville Daily Press

Along with other fans, Dan Rib watched his beloved Los Angeles Lakers suffer ups and downs during the past few seasons.

When the Lakers came together, they played like the best team in the league, he said. But when their star Kobe Bryant took over, he said the team crumbled. Rib realized that the 33-year-old guard isn’t the same player that he used to be.

Rib, 27, who graduated from Granite Hills High School, turned his frustration into a song after watching the Lakers get ousted from the playoffs last month. Inspired by the hit song “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye, Rib created a parody titled “Kobye - The Kobe That We Used to Know” and uploaded the movie to YouTube.

The three-minute movie lamenting the decline of Bryant was supposed to be just for fun so that friends and family could enjoy it, Rib said. But the clip went viral on YouTube, getting more than 500,000 hits in less than a week. Bloggers and news media â€" including ESPN, the Los Angeles Times and the Huffington Post â€" introduced the parody on their websites.

Rib sings the song in the clip, wearing a Pau Gasol jersey and at times standing in front of a store showing Bryant’s photo.

“But you admitted you would carry the team on your shoulders / But you didn’t have to take that shot / Just drive the lane and dump it off to either Pau or Bynum / Those two guys are really tall / And when you keep it for yourself we never score enough,” the lyrics say. “You didn’t have to hog the ball / You’re triple teamed so kick it out to either Blake or Sessions / I know that they don’t shoot so well / But you’re really not the Kobe that we used to know.”

Rib was in a marching band at Granite Hills High and also played music with High Desert bands. He got a bachelor’s degree in theater at the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the famous marching band. He now works as a company and stage manager for the Los Angeles Ballet.

Rib said he made the parody out of his love for the Lakers.

“I don’t want to be at the center of an anti-Kobe movement,” he said. “I love Kobe Bryant and I enjoy watching him play.”

What should the Lakers do next year?

“That’s not my specialty,” Rib said. “I personally love the Lakers as they are. However, I trust (General Manager) Mitch Kupchak to do what he thinks is best for the team. I’ll just sit back and enjoy their games. If I don’t like it, I’ll probably critique it.”

To watch Rib’s video, search “Kobye - The Kobe That We Used to Know” on YouTube.com.

Tomoya Shimura may be reached at (760) 955-5368 or TShimura@VVDailyPress.com. Follow Tomoya on Facebook at facebook.com/ShimuraTomoya.

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