Vince Young's career seemed to be sacked. But after some inspirations from
Kobe Bryant and a second chance in the 2009 season Young has led the Titans to
five straight wins. (Creative Commons licensed)

Kobe Bryant's biggest assist last season wasn't the pass that set up Derek Fisher's game-winning three point field goal in Game 4 of the NBA Finals or the alley-oop dish to Lamar Odom streaking down the lane on a fast break. In fact, his most powerful pass didn't even come in front of a packed crowd at the Staples Center.

Bryant had a historic 12 months to say the least: NBA Most Valuable Player, gold medalist in Beijing, captain of the NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Yet, beneath the accolades and newfound glory was a connection Bryant formed with a beleaguered, down-and-out star. A connection that may have proven to be his most meaningful endeavor in a year filled with lifetime-defining achievements.

Titans' quarterback Vince Young is still one of the most hated athletes in the city of Los Angeles. His late-game heroics in the final six minutes and 42 seconds of the 2006 Rose Bowl against a USC Trojans team which had previously won 34 consecutive games not only garnered a National Championship trophy for his Texas Longhorns' team but granted him the type of attention rarely given to a collegiate athlete. He became the feel-good story, the underdog who prevailed over the over-hyped, big city guys. But while the burnt-orange clad No.10 trampled on the dreams of an entire city, it would bring him a moment of glory which he has been unable to recapture.

Vince Young's professional career began with the type of success he was accustomed to as a collegiate star. The Texas native landed with the Tennessee Titans as the 3rd pick overall in the 2006 NFL Draft, en route to grabbing the NFL Rookie of the Year and NFL Pro Bowl honors. The 2007 season, however, for the former Longhorn was a much different story. From his suspension in the preseason for violating team rules, to a quadriceps injury that plagued him throughout the middle part of the campaign, to a regular season where he threw 17 interceptions and just nine touchdowns, to the listless performance he conjured up in the Titans' first round playoff matchup against the Chargers, the once-revered quarterback quickly became rant material for every radio talk show in the country. An athlete who had once reached the pinnacle of his sport, had, in just a few short months fallen to a level of irrelevancy.

While the man most Angelinos still love to hate continued to sink to the depths of mediocrity in his sport, the man who has easily become the most revered sports personality in the City of Angels, Kobe Bryant, was putting the finishing touches on an individual masterpiece finally worthy of MVP honors. While none of Bryant's statistics in the 2007-2008 season were career highs, his first MVP award wasn't as much a statistic-based accomplishment as it was a tribute to an athlete who re-invented himself as a man and as a ballplayer amidst the rape allegations that nearly destroyed his career just five years earlier. While the Lakers' captain would come up short against Boston in his first opportunity to win a title without 16-time all-star Shaquille O'Neal, the 2008-2009 season held much promise for the biggest star in a city filled with big names and bright lights.

As Bryant and his Lakers' teammates prepared for the hype that surrounded them going into the 2008-2009 campaign, thousands of miles away in Nashville, Tenn., Vince Young crumbled beneath it. During the first half of the Titans' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Young looked like a shell of the player who once came close to capturing football immortality. There was no will to win, no passion for the game of football. After throwing two interceptions and walking off to a chorus of boos from the frustrated Tennessee crowd at the end of the first half, Young's season ended after a mere 30 minutes. The Titans would officially call Young's benching the result of a knee injury sustained against the Jaguars, but for media members, football enthusiasts and those close to the embattled quarterback the message was clear: the one-time franchise savior had become a disposable employee. Just one day after the Jaguars game, the tale of Vince Young took a turn for the worst.

After Young failed to report to mandatory rehabilitation for his injured knee, family members became worried about his emotional well-being and called for a search of his whereabouts. While the former Pro Bowler was eventually found, the framework of his faltering saga had slowly begun to unfold. Vince Young, an individual who had once been hailed a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, had hit rock bottom. The praise and accolades had been replaced by the labels like suicidal, depressive and a detriment to professional football.

As Young's career continued to sink, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were enjoying a renaissance of championship-caliber basketball. No. 24 and company breezed by the competition during the regular season, capturing the best record in the NBA with 65 wins. There was no MVP in 2008-2009 for the Lower Merion High School graduate, but in a year where Bryant's career had been defined by team achievement in the Summer Olympics, the ultimate goal in the eyes of the now-mature leader of the purple and gold was to win the NBA Championship. That goal was eventually realized with relative ease as Bryant led the Lakers past the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals in just five games.

As Bryant man stood at the top of his sport, relishing in the summer tour of late night talk shows, championship parties, and the abundance of other public appearances, Vince Young found himself isolated from the success that once seemed his destiny. The memories of his Rose Bowl game-winning touchdown run or his appearance in the NFL Pro Bowl now seemed to be mere footnotes to a career fading away. But as Young assumed the role of clip board holder during last season's improbable playoff run by the Titans, the quarterback turned to an unlikely mentor, an athlete who could relate to hitting rock bottom: Kobe Bryant.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated writer Peter King earlier this month, Young expressed how the NBA superstar inspired him to keep his head up even while watching the grizzled-veteran Kerry Collins quarterback HIS team to the playoffs. Young recalls texting Bryant on several frustrating occasions, hoping that the future Hall of Famer could advise him on how to handle the failure he'd endured. While the two competed in different sports and appeared headed in starkly contrasting directions, it was the words of Bryant that connected them in ways not seen on an athletic field of competition.

Whether on a grueling road trip or just hours before a challenging matchup against a Western Conference contender, Bryant always took the time to console the ailing Young.

"He would always say something like, 'Stay focused. Work on your craft'," Young said in his interview with Sports Illustrated.

And although on the surface Bryant's words appear almost trite in nature, it was the type of motivation that reinvigorated the Titans' quarterback.

"That's what I needed--someone I respected like him or Brett Favre to tell me everybody goes through tough times. Adversity comes, work hard, work on your game, and you'll come out OK," Young said.

While Young has yet to reach a level of prestige comparable to Bryant's, the connection sparked a rebirth for his career. Although the Titans renewed their faith in the aging Collins by signing him to a two-year deal and naming him the starting quarterback, the team's once-proclaimed franchise quarterback waited patiently for his second chance. After the Titans trudged out to a 0-6 start this season capped by a 59-0 drubbing at the hands of the New England Patriots in a northeastern blizzard, Young's patience would finally be recognized as he was once again announced as the team's starting quarterback.

Vince Young is no longer the punch line of the NFL. Instead, he's once again the poster child for front page headlines, as he has led the Titans to five consecutive wins. After Sunday afternoon's thrilling 20-17 win over the Cardinals with a touchdown pass at the buzzer, the impact Bryant's words had on the 26-year-old quarterback is clear. Young's success is no longer seen in his ability to run for first downs or throw 50-yard passes down field (although he did throw for a career high 387 yards vs. Cardinals Sunday), but rather in his ability to unify a team with a sense of calm, poise and confidence under pressure; a lesson he most surely learned from the four-time champion.

In the transient world that is sports it is not uncommon to witness the rise and fall of an athlete like Vince Young. While five games is not enough time to determine whether Young will recapture the level of dominance that defined his greatness at the University of Texas, his relationship with Kobe Bryant is a positive place for the former star to begin picking up the pieces to his once-promising career.

While to an outsider their relationship seems unusual, especially since Bryant is beloved by the fans in Los Angeles, a place where Young is still detested. Their connection demonstrates how sports can extend beyond individual success and the prejudices of a heartbroken city. On the surface, it appears the student has far more to gain from this relationship. The mentor, it seems, has nothing left to prove. His abilities, his aspirations, his work ethic have already been etched into sports lore with championship trophies, ticker-tape parades, and endless highlight reels. But where the newspaper headlines fade and the bright lights dim, the relationship of Vince Young and Kobe Bryant, student and mentor, extends much deeper. Their winning connection isn't strengthened solely by wins and on-field achievement, but by the lessons passed down from Bryant in the hope that they continue to touch the heart and soul of the maturing Young. They are lessons that not only apply to the game of football, but to the game of life as well.