As days blended together and sleep schedules were obliterated, life was starting to seem increasingly monotonous. One episode of "The Bachelor" after the next, one Diet Coke after the other, four walks up the street. I wasn't depressed, but there wasn't anything to look forward to. Life was beginning to turn gray for this sports fan as the world of athletics went completely silent...
*POW*
*BAM*
*BOOM*
But suddenly, Sunday April 19th, 2020 crashed onto earth like a meteor. Twitter was firing at a hundred miles an hour as everyone made claims of anticipating "The Last Dance", the ESPN 10-part series on Michael Jordan's career, more than the next.
My family and I sat down during dinner on Sunday night to watch the 2 hour special, and it lived up to all the hype. In a desert of tranquility with no excitement to be found, we were gifted an oasis in the form of two hours of watching His Airness throw it down.
The documentary was great, and most all of the "givens" were covered. We knew he was a legend. We knew he won six rings. We knew he was kinda a dick.
What we didn't know was that the first two episodes would not be about Michael Jordan. While we got our healthy dose of MJ, the initial installments had other stories to tell.
These were the stories of Jerry Krause and Scottie Pippen.
We were provided never before seen footage of how the players interacted with an extremely resentful general manager Krause. We also saw how under appreciated Scottie Pippen was by the management of the Bulls.
The two facts that jumped out at me were:
1. Scottie Pippen signed a 7 year, 18 million dollar deal. That was ludicrous. That is like saying Anthony Davis, the second best All-Star on the 1 seed in the west Lakers, had signed a 6 year 30 million dollar deal. It's absolutely insane.
2. Krause said to Bulls head coach Phil Jackson that he could go 82-0 and he would still be fired the next year. That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. A general manager blatantly telling a coach that it didn't matter how good his team might be, he would still be out. What's even crazier, the owner of the Bulls sided with Krause!
Other than these two bombshells, there were some great moments: President Barack Obama recounting what it was like to be in Chicago when MJ was playing, Dwayne Wade emphatically stating that MJ was the greatest of all time, MJ sippin' on some bourbon the ENTIRE show.
One of my favorite moments was when MJ was recounting his teammates doing coke in the hotels, but that he himself would never partake -- cut to: a puffy faced, bloodshot eyed Jordan smoking a cigar.
If you haven't seen the first two episodes, it's a must watch. Do yourself the favor and follow the series. It definitely reminded me of my passion for sports, and I can't wait for the next episodes.
Thanks for reading as always.
-- Beau