In Hall of Michael Jordan

I used to hate Michael Jordan. When I was growing up, he was public enemy number one. I'm not quite old enough to recall in great clarity the great Celtics and Lakers battles of the 1980's - I know they were great, but I don't remember sitting in front of a television watching them. I do remember however, when Michael Jordan would come to town. This was around '89 - '90, after he had been in the league a few years and was gaining momentum as a truly great player. This was also around the same time that the Big Three, and more specifically, one Larry Legend, were losing their momentum. They had won their 3 championships and dominated the front lines of the NBA, but they were slowly getting old - Larry with his bad and ankles and Kevin Mchale with his ankles and knees. There was now a new force to be reckoned with, and his name was Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Jordan had scored 63 points against the Celtics in a playoff series in 1986, still the playoff record for single game scoring. He was seemingly unstoppable, and very difficult to beat, and that is why whenever he came to town, people showed up to watch him. I remember sitting in my living room with my dad, watching Celtics games, and specifically Celtics vs. Bulls games. My dad would guffah everytime MJ scored, or stole the ball, or did whatever he did - usually scoring. My mother, because she doesn't know any better - would sit and say 'boy, is he good." This irritated the hell out of me, and I would ask her to be quiet on more than one occasion. The rule is: if he's not wearing green, you can't say he's good - it's just that simple.

I remember that morning in 1993, when I was getting up for school, and my dad yelled up the stairs ' guess who retired, and it's not one of the Celtics." I was sort of stuck in a mental lapse, someone retired, not on the Celtics? I couldn't think of anyone currently in the NBA whose retirement would be a major announcement. I paused - and then I said "who?" "Michael Jordan" was the bellowing response from the kitchen. I paused again, wow, Michael Jordan, this is a great day for the Celtics, I thought to myself. Meanwhile, when I got to school, that was all the buzz. My friend Ziv, a life long Bulls fans - he's from Israel so really he shouldn't be a Bulls fan, I don't know why he's a Bulls fan, it doesn't make sense that he's a Bulls fan, but, alas... he's a Bulls fan. Let's just say that Ziv and I spent many a homeroom, social studies, science, math, geography, recess, debating the merits of MJ versus Larry Bird. We never tired of it, even if our teachers did, as a matter of fact more often than not we deliberately debated this topic to piss them off, sort of like showing off in front of your parents because you think you know something - or maybe not.

Mr. Jordan preceded to retire, only to comeback to the Bulls in 1996, win a few more championships, retire again, then return to basketball with his team the Wizards, but this time with no championships, more of a slow fade into retirement, without all the fanfare and winning. Let's just say Brett Favre would have more Facebook friends if he had taken a page out of Michael Jordan's retirement plan, instead of improvising with his own sordid maniacal excuse for one.

So this all brings us to today, the second Friday in September, when Michael Jeffrey Jordan has entered the Basketball Hall of Fame. Being a tad bit more mature than I was in 1993, I can respect his achievements in the game of basketball even if I will never put them above one Larry Joe Bird of French Lick, Indiana, 3-time NBA Champion and League MVP, the man who famously hit his head on the floor in the playoffs against the Pacers, only to come roaring back out of the tunnel ala Willis Reed, and win the game. Oh right - back to Michael Jordan. He was inducted this evening by David Thompson, the pre-Michael Jordan at North Carolina, and I have to say, he is a smart and funny guy. He thanked all those who had challenged him, told him he wasn't good enough, didn't let him play when he wanted to, even thanked the Hall of Fame for charging $200 bucks a seat. He personally thanked the man who made the high school basketball team instead of him, explaining how that snub pushed MJ to prove that a mistake had been made. He even thanked Bryon Russell, formerly of the Utah Jazz, and also the man whom MJ faked out to hit the last second shot against the Jazz in the 1998 Finals, his last championship. He thanked him for saying that he could guard Mr. Jordan. "Remember that" he asked John Stockton, his fellow Hall enshrinee, and also the other Utah guard on the floor at the time of Michael's shot. Stockton begrudingly recalled that moment. Talk about being competitive.