Let me begin by saying I have basically worshiped this man my whole life. I was a freshman in high school when The Bulls won championship number one and graduated college when they collected number six.
I am not impartial on this.
Still, Jordan was inducted to the basketball hall of fame last week. Some people said he broke tradition with a speech that wasn't lofty and gracious, but petty and self-serving.
I can see that point.
But as someone who's followed him his whole career, I've often laughed at how little people know about the man if they go solely by his interviews before and after games.
Michael Jordan had the most well-managed sports persona in American History.
After games he was never passionate. He was repetitive. He never gave a personal impression except to say that they could have worked harder...or to reiterate the changes in momentum of the game that we had already just watched. He was like an expert witness in a case...he never said more than he had to or gave you anything to work with. He wasn't witty or charming. He was brief, coherent and boring.
He had a gambling scandal which I'm sure he's stoked happened before the internet era, and which never affected him since no one could have imagined he'd gambled on Bulls games. And frankly, as a guy worth millions to himself and billions to his franchise, who cares if he blew his money.
He played baseball, poorly, but the world forgave that because his dad had past, and it seemed he was searching for something in his life.
Even his well-publicized divorce from his wife, where she walked away with anywhere from $100 - $200 million, you never heard one peep from the Jordan camp, nor heard any reports of him being a dick or misbehaving. I mean, Paul McCartney only lost about $60 million to Heather Mills but you saw that story every single day. We did more with his divorce over at The Message than the media ever did.
So just as I said when Steve McNair was tragically killed this summer or when Michael Vick was caught fighting dogs...how much do we really know about the man?
Jordan? Not much.
From his teammates (anecdotal) he was a ruthless competitor who wanted to win at all costs. That's not something the media or fans will ever blame you for...especially if you have six championships. He didn't kick it with his teammates and pretend they were all friends off the court (like LeBron does)...he never had any high-profile personal life issues...he just won.
And that's all his media managers did, make sure when you looked at or heard from Michael, all you walked away with was: winner. And as such, converted him from the best basketball player on the planet...to a juggernaut of a global brand. And Jordan himself, unlike so many other sports stars (TO, Vick, Pacman Jones, OchoCinco, etc.) understands the strength of being a global brand. And never did ONE thing to jeopardize it.
Consider that, consider how famous he is, and how little you know of him outside of his playing years. Consider how well-managed he is that you think you know "he's a great guy"...but you're basing that on his commercials, his interviews and his movies.
His handling over the years has been brilliant. But it takes more than great handling to maintain the level of power he has. Don't think for a minute that every sports star who gets in trouble doesn't have people telling them how to avoid controversy and make more money...So, Jordan is not just well-handled, he, himself is brilliant. He's a brilliant man.
Personally, I kind of always assumed he was a dick in person. I mean his best friends are Charles Oakley and Charles Barkley, not exactly guys known for being easy-going and amiable in private. He smokes cigars, parties with hot chicks and plays golf. That didn't stop me from loving him one bit, as, I've said before, I separate people from their achievements.
Below, for the first time in my life, I got to see how Jordan really felt about the world. This is the first time America has ever heard him speak how he really feels.
I loved it.
It showed a man constantly in search of a reason to get better. It showed how he fueled his passion, not for basketball, but for victory with what he considered the slights of those around him. And WHO GIVES A DAMN if those slights were fake. Or didn't even really happen. He, like a guy in a bar fight, was just looking for a reason.
Just amazing, really. And for a minute, you should think about who you respect in the world for their accomplishments but have no sense of who they are behind closed doors.
But that's what Jordan is. A man we just don't know outside of his flawless career. He was not a diplomat or a cherished peace-maker. Not a big brother or friendly role-model. He was not a friendly TV presence or a down-to-earth good guy.
He was a champion.
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ps - did you see the chick next to him when he stood up, it wasn't Juanita. I know they're divored but still. hahahahahaha! (wow.)
ps2 - I can't believe Dennis Rodman showed. I always thought he hated Jordan.
ps3 - how great is it that the first thing Jordan did was thank Scottie Pippen? So dope.
ps4 - during the famous flu game, do you think he was faking, just trying to find some way to make shit more challenging?
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I think the woman next to him was with the guy next to her because Jordan was sitting with his mom. (The woman could have been on some Ghostface Gihad ish. Gotta peep the song to get the reference.)
Shouting out Scottie as the first thing was dope. I don't know why people even try to front on Scottie's contributions and individual greatness.
Flu game: FAKE! He was not sick. In fact, reports state that Mike was trying to get himself sick by touching every door knob and snot nosed child he could in the days leading up to the game and when he couldn't get sick, he decided to fake it. Twice, during the game, when he had the towel over his head, you could see him smiling, and if you read his lips you can make out that he was talking about dragons. (Rumor has it that Mike was big into Sci fi and in his ultimate challenge, he would hoop against ball playing dragons. Rumor also has it that these dragons were in the Space Jam sequel that was never released).
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