Post By: Nathan Wahle
In Monday's class I can honestly say that it felt like I was traveling back to my childhood days. Michael Jordan meant everything to me when I was a kid and in a way still does to this day. Basketball is definitely my favorite sport so it helped having such an icon to look up to while growing up. Back when he played I followed the NBA religiously and every regular season loss was painful but I really took it hard on losses within a series during the playoffs, especially if it was against archrival Reggie Miller and the Pacers. If I had to listen to a game on the radio I would, if a game of his was on television I would watch, if the game wasn't on either of those two types of media then I would watch the bottom line on ESPN and follow the score that way. Meanwhile I had a miniature basketball court in my basement where I was pretending to be Michael Jordan and hoping one day I could reach his level. It was more fun than any video games or computer games because in my mind I was actually him.
I say to this day Michael Jordan still means everything because ever since he left the NBA, I do not follow the season anywhere close to how I did when I was younger. I do follow the NBA playoffs very close because I do think it is the best basketball and I tend to watch for great individual performances kind of like seeking that thrill and satisfaction of witnessing MJ's performances. Plus, to this day I still have a fit anytime somebody makes a claim to a player in today's game being the next "Michael Jordan". I get upset because I view Michael as mine just like thousands if not millions of others do as well.
After watching the video in class on Michael Jordan, it just proves how everyone took Michael as their own because the media protected him and nobody ever wanted to hear anything bad about him and if they did they would just deny it. It is crazy because I don't think we as a society would do that for any other athlete especially in today's sports. Michael Jordan reflected perfection in everything he did for whites and blacks, sports fans and non-sports fans, men and women it did not matter. Not only that but he had a magic about him that had people downplay the flaws he did have more than they would for anybody else. Not only will Michael go down as one of the best sports athletes of all time, but he might very well also go down as the greatest icon and hero of all time.
I agree with you Nate about Michael Jordan being the greatest athlete of all time. I do not believe that players like Lebron or Kobe would ever achieve MJ’s status. Jordan held himself at such a high level of professionalism that most players do not hold themselves too now a day. On the Youtube clip for Friday’s class Jordan says that they got what they earned. With this I do not think that current players deserve as much publicity and respect as some people give them. It is a circus act in which players do not care because they are being paid a ridiculous amount of money to perform. It seems like a bunch of politics instead of passion. The players play for their selves regardless of the fans, which should be the main reason since that is how they get paid anyways. It has been a significant change in sports from when Jordan was in the league to now. I wish there were players like Jordan, Bird, and Johnson still around.
ReplyDelete-Nathan Latta
Comment By: Brady Munger
ReplyDeleteI liked Nate's post on the Jordan affect. I truly believe that now and during his career Jordan was a cultural icon. He achieved a level that no athlete has seen before, both for his playing and his handling of his personal affairs with sponsorship's, etc. But i politely disagree with what Nathan has to say. I believe that Lebron or Kobe could be anything that they want to be, and could achieve "Jordan" status. The one thing that bothered me the most was during the video when Micheal Jordan was talking and said that he earned everything they got. When he spoke of the high sponsorship deals, and the publicity he was contradicting him self. You can barely watch T.V these days without seeing a Haynes commercial with MJ sporting his fruit of the looms. Although the same opportunities might not have been available during his playing time, he is not shying away from the same things he criticize's players for today. I believe that with social change, and time change comes a change in the game and that is a clear example of this with Lebron and Micheal Jordan being raised in a different time. I do believe as well though that if Jordan was to be playing now at the same time as Lebron, he would be the same and do the same things. I believe that Jordan saying that and meaning today's athletes do not earn what they get is preposterous. Nathan said that the league and players today is just a bunch of politics and passion, but was it not Lebron who wanted to stay out of the politics? Also anyone who tells me that those men do not put passion into their play every night have not seen them perform. They work their hardest every night and there is no lack of passion from the time of Jordan as compared to today.
This is a really good blog so far. Good job guys on seeing both perspectives. Nathan made some great points and Brady made some compelling arguments. I believe that Michael Jordan is one of the best athletes of all time. It is hard not to put him in the picture of the other greats. He was and still is a great person to market, sponsor, and sell. Everyone liked him, everyone enjoyed watching him, and he did great things for the game of basketball. I think that it is possible to see another player with the same "Jordan" status, but it will be a very steep climb. Brady, I agree with what you mentioned about players always giving their best and performing every night. But, I know of sports fans who would rather watch college basketball rather than NBA because they say the college athletes try harder and work harder. It makes me think that maybe the pros do perform every night, but does every single NBA player give their absolute best on every single night in every single game? For the money they are making they better be playing that way. I'm not saying they aren't passionate, but I am just stating that ESPN analysts will sometimes ask, "Where was Lebron tonight?" or "Bosh can't step up".
ReplyDeleteMike Harrington
Brady Munger
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mike. I would absolutely agree with you on the college basketball aspect as well. I have had many people make that argument to me that college players play harder and give it their all as compared to professional. It seems it is an aspect of what they have to play for. College players play hard to try and get to the next level, and be a success in the NBA. But I do not believe they stop trying then. Personally I think sometimes in college it seems li,e they are trying harder, trying to achieve a good draft status and make something of themselves in the NBA, but I believe once they are finally there the expectations rise so dramatically and get to a level that people just critique and criticize so much harder. This makes it harder for players to have the same view of their play as they had in college. People often assume that once they make money they do not try anymore, but they have to keep working hard and giving it their all if they want to keep that money. When the analysts ask those questions about the starts, I believe they are just stirring the pot and getting people riled up. They want to create controversy and create discussion, and going after and attacking the star players are the easiest way for them to do this.
The NBA season is considerably longer (albeit not as long this year because of the lockout) than the college season. But after watching the two NCAA Men's semifinals games last night, it is hard to argue with the point that college basketball players play their hearts out more than NBA players. btw, I loved how this topic took Nathan back to his younger days:-)
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