When I was a kid, Michael Jordan was everywhere. Magazines, commercials, even the movies. And of course, on the off chance the TV was turned on to a sports show, there he'd be, doing something amazing that had you convinced that he was the greatest player ever, and we had the privilege of watching him.
I wasn't even watching sports at the time, but I was mesmerized by him. It helped that I was now sleeping in the room that belonged to my uncle, which had Michael Jordan posters all over it. And as I got into bed every night, there was Michael Jordan flying through the air, or furiously dunking a ball through a hoop, keeping me safe from nightmares, and presumably Charles Barkley.
Now that I'm 22, I can now see the big picture of Michael Jordan. I see all of what made him great, and I also see a fault of his that I didn't notice before.
Michael Jordan's kind of a jerk.
One of the downsides of the internet is the sheer amount of information at your fingertips. I know more factoids and tidbits about not just Michael Jordan, but other weird bullshit. And if I don't know it, I can find it within a couple of seconds. So anything that Michael Jordan either said or did that's good or bad I now know.
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| Like when he dropped a deuce on the Reunion Arena's court, just because he could. |
Jordan's greatest asset as a player was his competitiveness. It didn't matter if someone he was going against was bigger or stronger than him, he wasn't going to get beat by some asshat who wasn't named Michael Jordan. The integrity of his competitive streak was on full display in the 1997 NBA finals. Jordan was suffering from a bad case of the flu (or had been poisoned by Utah pizza) in the 24 hours before Game 5. Most people would be bedridden with such an acute case of the disease. Michael Jordan would call those people a bunch of pussies. Then he'd dunk on them, just 'cause. Jordan not only played that night, he played for 44 minutes and scored 38 points. Think about that the next time you call in sick for work when you've got a scratchy throat.
But his competitiveness has a downside. By the fact that its completely dominated every aspect of his life. Jordan used slights against him as motivation. Whether these slights were real or imagined didn't real matter to him. The most famous of these occurred in high school when he was supposedly the last cut for the team. This fueled Jordan, and he was on the starting team the next year. When in reality, Jordan wasn't cut at all- he just got demoted to the JV team. But Jordan wanted to be a varsity starter, and not being on the varsity team meant to him that wasn't on the team at all. And later if he accused his high school coach of cutting him and subtly telling everyone what a jag that guy was for doing it, well, that was pretty much vintage Jordan.
This wasn't the only time Jordan concocted stories in his own mind to fuel his fire. Or the first time he verbally smacked down others for daring to get the better of him in a sporting event. Hell, his hall of fame acceptance speech is about 15% of Jordan thanking people, and another 85% of him telling them to piss up a rope.
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| "I've got so many people to say 'screw you' to..." |
Jordan is currently the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, which leads to another douchey anecdote. Jordan was unique during the 2011 NBA lockout, as he was the only person participating in the talks that had been a player in one (in 1999) and an owner in another. During the '99 lockout, Jordan was appalled that the owners weren't going to give the players more money. He got into it with Abe Pollin, who owned the Wizards at the time, and allegedly dropped this gem on him: "If you can't turn a profit, you should sell your team!"
Years later as owner of the Bobcats, Jordan was now in one of the big chairs during another lockout, and was once again appalled. Only this time, he was appalled that the players had the audacity to want more money. In fact, Jordan was outed as one of the hardline owners who was keeping the lockout going by being an uncompromising dickhead. Jordan went from "champion of the little guy" to "every rich asshole who ever lived" in the span of twelve years.
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| As this picture clearly illustrates. |
But I can't fully dislike him, and nostalgia is only part of the reason. Jordan's done and said a lot of shitty things, but he's also done a lot of good. And no, he's not the basketball equivalent Superman, being a boy scout and all around good guy. That may be disappointing to some, but to me, all of these events added up make him, and this may shock you, a human being. He's like any one of us, aside from the millions of dollars and crapton of awards and honors.
And Jordan's competitive personality isn't exactly new to the sports landscape. In fact, Kobe Bryant is almost a carbon copy of Jordan as far as the way the wheels in his head turn. Kobe is just as competitive as Jordan was and still is, and also like Jordan, there are numerous instances of dickery at Kobe's feet. The biggest differences is that Kobe has fewer rings and more rape allegations.
Kobe also plays in an era where all the flaws that he and Jordan share are on full display on every cell phone or web cam that films him. Kobe, while being charismatic, isn't as affable as Jordan is or as engaging. For better or worse, even though their personalities are remarkably similar, Jordan will likely always be remembered for being the affable leader of the great Bulls teams in the 90s, while Kobe is the guy with the scowl on his face that railed that chick without her consent. That's unfortunate for him, but I'm not writing this column about Kobe Bryant, so screw him.
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| "You get your ass outta my article!" |
Really, this article gives a complete picture into people's perception of Michael Jordan. Mostly it's just current and former players marveling at the awesome things he accomplished, but there are a few blurbs in there showing Jordan doing some genuine good and touching people's hearts for no reason other than because he could.
He did things on the court I still can't believe. He gave new meaning to the tagline to the first Superman movie: you will believe a man can fly. He's not perfect. He's capable of great pettiness, arrogance and ego. He's also capable of moments of sincerity and charity. Michael Jordan isn't the boy scout I and many others wished he was in the 90s. Michael Jordan is a human being. And he's still my favorite player.
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