Kobe Bryant catches an Olympic chill

Beijing

His giant arms have embraced championships, punched defeats, clutched stardom, shoved frustration, been marked with every sort of tattoo and twist and tear.

Yet marching into National Stadium for the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, Kobe Bryant looked down and saw something new.

Goose bumps.

"First time ever," he said.

And for his next act, the coldblooded superstar has become a bouncy public patriot, wearing his flag the way he once wore his glare.

Kobe Bryant with goose bumps is like the Great Wall with graffiti, but it works.

Red, white and human, he has never looked better.

"This has a greater significance than anything I've ever been part of," he said at the U.S. Olympic basketball team's practice Saturday, his voice strangely familiar.

Oh, yeah. This was the Kobe Bryant from a dozen years ago, before he disappeared under the drama.

He's grateful. He's humble. He's awed. After a difficult June featuring a lost NBA championship and an embarrassing Shaquille O'Neal rap video, he's that kid again.

Entering today's nutty Olympic opener against host China -- "It will be the highest-energy game I've ever been part of," he said -- Bryant has decided there's something bigger than Lakerland.

It's, you know, our land.

And to Lakers fans who are angry when he said bringing home a gold medal is bigger than winning an NBA championship, well, he has a message.

"So what?" he said. "If they don't understand this, they don't know what they're talking about. It's simple. You're playing for your country!"

I agree with him, and if you were here, you might agree with him too.

As the Olympic rookie, Bryant marched in with hundreds of U.S. athletes Friday, the loner leader was suddenly a small part of something huge, just another tall guy at the back of the line. But then once he was recognized, he was cheered wildly by Chinese fans while other fans chanted, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

"That's the first time I'd ever heard those 'USA' chants in person, and it was the most amazing thing ever," Bryant said. "Nobody in L.A. wants to win for the Lakers more than me, everybody knows it. But this is something totally different."

The significance isn't in the minutes (he'll probably play only about half of each game) or the numbers (he'll share any big stats with LeBron James or Dwyane Wade).

This significance is in redemption for his country and renewal of his sport.