Video: Bryant, Messi upstaged by ice cream

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 By Rob Mahoney

Kobe Bryant’s obsessively competitive nature has become a central part of his public image, so much so that Turkish Airlines highlighted Bryant’s one-upmanship in its latest commercial. Opposite Bryant is soccer star Lionel Messi — an apt foil for the attentions of a young boy who wanders into the first-class cabin, thereby starting up an arms race of parlor tricks between the two gamesmen. Unfortunately, fancy playing-card architecture and intricate, balloon-constructed saber-toothed tigers hold no sway in the mind of a child next to two plain scoops of vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Sheesh. Kids these days need to get their priorities straight … or at least hold out for some premium toppings.