Fans of Kobe Bryant look to connect with his greatness through 'jersey, basketball or photo'

MILWAUKEE -- It happens when a celebrity dies -- especially unexpectedly. There is a new demand for memorabilia connected to them. It is true today -- people want something, anything related to Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant memorabilia

"I think everyone, complete shock. When I heard the news, complete shock," said Jeff Lemieux, owner of Jeff's Sports Inc.

Less than 24 hours after Bryant's death, demand for anything related to Kobe is blowing up Lemieux's phone.

"We had probably over 60 voicemails today, and over 100 emails of people looking for stuff," Lemieux said.

Fans are looking to connect with greatness by getting their hands on whatever they can.

Kobe Bryant memorabilia

Jeff Lemieux

"There's only a few players like that that come into the sport like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, you can probably name them on your hand," Lemieux said. "From basketball,  it's really a couple, three things, that most people look for. They look for jersey, basketball or photo."

But be warned, the merchandise can be costly.

"You could buy his rookie card for like $35. They're selling for $600 this morning," Lemieux said. "So in comparison, Friday, last Friday, if someone wanted an authentic Kobe Bryant autographed jersey, you'd be looking at $800 to $1,000 range. I've seen them, right now, selling at $4,000 to $6,000 this morning."

Kobe Bryant memorabilia

As we all grieve in our own way, spending the money for one of those items is one way to carry on.