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The Art of Being Michael Jordan


The popularity of the NBA has declined since Michael’s retirement, with television ratings down 20 percent. The NBA’s commissioner, David Stern, does not believe Jordan’s exit from the game is the main cause of this. He had better hope it isn’t, since Jordan is most likely retired for good this time around, and gimmicks such as putting microphones on coaches are not likely to be the solution. Stern cites reasons such as overexposure of games on cable and local television; Tiger Wood’s emergence as the new darling of the casual sports fan; viewer alienation caused by last season’s player lockout; and the fact that promising collegiate players are rarely pre-established as stars through four years of steady marketing nowadays, because they usually jump to the pros after a year or two, if not bypassing college altogether. These are plausible explanations, but it remains impossible to discount the Jordan factor altogether.

Yet logic dictates that while Michael won’t be forgotten, he will grow increasingly faint to the public’s eye over time. Perhaps at a faster rate than you would think. This is a new century we’re living in, a new age. The generation seizing control is accustomed to innumerable easy access distractions and a constant stream of previously unimaginable innovations. Our collective level of concentration and devotion bears little resemblance to the days when Babe Ruth was being stamped as an eternal icon, back when the name of every new company did not end in "dot com". Will the theatrics of future sports showmen marketed with equal care cast Jordan from our adoring thoughts sooner rather than later?

Athletes such as Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Muhammad Ali staked their claims to immortality outside as well as within the games they played. They embraced social issues that defined their legacies no less than their athletic prowess. They exhibited flaws, were humbled by defeat, but their strength of character and conviction made them triumphant in the end, forever endearing them to us. In other words, they accomplished more than simply winning and getting paid. Jordan for his part has remained stubbornly neutral, therefore uncontroversial, offending none so beloved by all. The average politician would sell his soul in exchange for such broad based appeal. Hopefully Bill Bradley paid a little less for the next best thing, an endorsement from Jordan, perhaps the only one that did not produce wildly successful results. Michael
The copyright of the article The Art of Being Michael Jordan in Sports Issues is owned by Roy Pickering. Permission to republish The Art of Being Michael Jordan in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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