The Last Dance
I was four years old for MJ's final championship in '98 - just a little too young to appreciate the magnitude of what MJ was accomplishing. And just a little too young to process what an athlete was doing for his sport, his city, his race, and his country. He was larger than life, not only standing far taller than the other giants of his sport, but transcending the sport itself.
Growing up in the 2000 and 2010's, you see and hear the evidence, of course. Six in eight, The flu game, The Dream Team. You go see Space Jam and you think to yourself how no other athlete could ever pull off something like that. You watch old games and you're in awe of how talented he is as a basketball player. But you don't really feel it, you can't really.
Fast forward to today and I live in Chicago. There's a pandemic out there, so I spend my time inside, watching movies and documentaries because no sports are happening. As an all-sports fan, I'm sad and I'm bored. I get it of course, but it's a hard time to love sports.
And then comes episodes one and two of this documentary, and everyone turns their heads. Everyone who missed sports had this chance to bond over greatness. This was our quarantine sport. It didn't matter that we knew the ending, for many of us, it still felt like we were watching it, and experiencing it, for the very first time.
A lot of medical professionals have been saying in quarantine it's important to build a routine, to maintain some structure and order. This was mine. Each Sunday I sat down and watched for two hours as I for the first time really understood his greatness. It's one thing to read about it, it's another when frame after frame, interview after interview, you find your mouth agape from what you see and what you hear. Air Jordan captured my attention for two hours, every Sunday, and has played a pivotal role in getting me through my quarantine experience.
This documentary, like Michael Jordan himself, was not perfect. But also just like Mike, when it was needed, it showed up in the clutch, and did not disappoint.
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