Sensory Overload

The hair that stands up on the back of your neck. The chills that run down your spine. The goosebumps that encompass every inch of your body. Uncontrollable and instinctive bodily functions that happen when you reach sensory overload. Personally very few THINGS bring about these occurrences in my life. Excitement in sports happens to be one of them. The eruption of a crowd in unison with a game changing moment. A walk-off homerun in baseball. A devastatingly hard tackle in football. A game winning buzzer beater in basketball, so on and so forth. Michael Jordan was the only ATHLETE to instigate these emotions in my life. Players like Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders come very close, but Jordan brought out these feelings almost nightly as a child. Everyone has their own memories and experiences of what Jordan did or did not mean to them. To me, the Bulls of the '90's were not the Chicago Bulls, they were Jordan’s Bulls. For as much as I loved the smooth play of Scottie Pippen, the Zen like presence of Phil Jackson, or the natural unselfishness of role players like Ron Harper, John Paxson and Dennis Rodman…they were always Jordan’s Bulls and they played by Jordan’s rules. It wasn’t just his competitive arrogance that left me in awe. It was his ability to back it up. A true superstar rises to the occasion and never looks back. Jordan defied every occasion and took it to the next level. Few athletes of my time have possessed this uncanny ability to blend everything so naturally into one and leave the crowd wanting more. For Jordan, it was expected night in and night out.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Many moments of Jordan’s illustrious career happened a bit before my visual brain span was allowed to comprehend what was going on. So I can really only base personal experiences off of what I remember. Still, I feel as though there are too many to name. Two distinctly come to mind.

After securing three consecutive championships from 1991-93 tragedy struck when Jordan’s father, James, was murdered in the summer of 1993. That October, Jordan abruptly and shockingly announced his first retirement from the NBA. He cited a “loss of desire to play the game,” much of which surely was attributed to the passing of his father. After briefly playing minor league baseball, Jordan returned to the Bulls late in the 1994-95 season only to have the team lose to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Entering the 1995-96 season the Bulls seemed to be on a mission. With the addition of bad boy rebound machine Dennis Rodman, the team seemed to have all the pieces in place for another championship run. The Bulls went on to win an NBA record 72 games and it culminated with Jordan’s fourth NBA title. Ironically enough the series clinching game was played on Fathers Day and was the first title Jordan had won since the passing of his father. After the game an over-emotional Jordan could be seen sprawled across the court and then later in the locker room clenching the game ball, crying and seemingly wishing what could have been had his father been there. For myself, the image was unforgettable. The realization that sports had a much more complex meaning than wins and losses. A time when raw emotion spoke louder than words ever could.

The second came against the Portland Trailblazers during the first round of the 1992 NBA finals. Jordan dropped 35 points and 6 three-pointers… in the first half, both NBA records. After making the sixth three-pointer Jordan turns to jog back to his end of the court only to glance to the crowd and shrug innocently in what would possibly prove to be the most renowned and recognizable clip of “His Airness,” To hear the crowd roar with every made shot was simply breathtaking. Jordan showcased his talent to the world on the largest of stages time and time again.

“Your mind is the mountain before you. You’ve reached the summit. Now transcend the skies”

On Friday September 11, 2009, Michael Jordan was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. This is by no means the defining moment of his career. Think of it as a refreshing dessert after a hearty main course. It would be hard pressed to find anyone that questioned his desire to win. His popularity could have been a target for others to exploit but Jordan had his own agenda. He still talks as if he could come back and play at any moment. Mentally, he claims to be sharper than ever. His age old determination only adds to the intrigue of his legacy. No other person transcended the skies quite like "Air" Jordan. And to that I say “Thank you." Here is a cheers and a congratulations.

-MJK