“Mom, when I have kids I’m going to tell them about what I saw tonight. I’m going to tell them that I was lucky enough to watch Michael Jordan play basketball.”
That quote, or something like it, came from my mouth when I was only 17 years old. I was alone in my room, watching the 1997 NBA Finals on a small 13 inch screen. Michael Jordan has just played an entire game with a stomach flu and still scored an amazing 38 points. I was stunned. This man, who could hardly stand when time was called, got out on that court and willed a victory for his team. Even though I wasn’t a Bulls fan, I was almost brought to tears. When the game was over, I sat there stunned. So many things ran though my mind about this athlete. His shoes, his movies, but most importantly his literally incredible feats on a basketball court, which are way too numerous to list here.
Then it happened. I don’t know what possessed me to do it but, even though it was nearly midnight, and even though it might have seemed a little creepy, I had to tell my mother that I had just experienced something special.
“Mom, when I have kids I’m going to tell them about what I saw tonight. I’m going to tell them that I was lucky enough to watch Michael Jordan play basketball.”
On September 11, Michael Jordan is going to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, an honor that is almost beneath Jordan. That’s how good he was. Some generations think of Ruth as the greatest athlete, others might think of Unitas or more recently Bonds or Jeter. But give me Michael Jordan. He was the greatest of all time.
Starting next week, KidGlue is going to be running a column called “Sports Memories in the Making” by Jeremy Suede. Each week, he’ll look at the sports calendar and pick out a few instances that you might want to ear mark for your kids. Games or situations of historical significance that they can one day tell there kids “I remember when…” Be on the look out for it.
Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction would have been perfect.
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