I remember the ‘Be Like Mike’ campaign way back when. Maybe I’m dating myself by admitting that, but it sure did compel me to get into NBA basketball.

Now, we’re going to try something similar in order to bring in anyone who isn’t yet a soccer fan.

Check out who is a soccer fan. If you guessed it by the title of this blog, then color yourself clever.

WARNING: Kobe playing soccer is about as pretty as MJ playing, yup, baseball. Anyone remember that horror?

Well, Kobe claims he got into soccer (and FC Barcelona) watching Ronaldinho, but I believe it’s an homage to his new 7-foot teammate, Pao Gasol, who helped Bryant and his Lakers reach the NBA Finals last season, and who happens to have been born and bred in, yeah, Barcelona.

So, whatever your motivation, whether it’s Kobe, Ronaldinho or even Pao Gasol, we hope you buy some FC Barcelona Jerseys or the

Booty-huggin’ Shorts!