Column:
Jordan set the standard for pro athletes
Published Sept. 18, 2009
Although Michael Jordan hasn’t hit the NBA hardwood in more than half a decade and hasn’t donned Bulls red in far longer, it seems like just yesterday I watched him from my family room as a 9-year-old as he helped beat the Utah Jazz in Game Six of the 1998 NBA Finals.
I clearly remember during his second retirement as a Bull, and his subsequent return with the Washington Wizards, the discussion that there was never going to be a better player that season, this decade, or perhaps even this lifetime.
It was only fitting I got to watch him on television again as he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., — the long-awaited final step on a winding road to basketball immortality.
Although his feats might have been more impressive to the 9-year-old me than the 19-year-old me, No. 23 is unquestionably the greatest player I remember watching. Put simply, no one could control or decide a game as quickly as he could.
The end of the beginning is officially now upon us, almost a period on the first sentence of our giant book of professional sports memories.
Michael Jordan is the first phenomenal and truly game-changing player of our generation to reach the hall of fame — hopefully the first of many. True, there have been other great players who we probably remember inducted into their respective halls of fame (Troy Aikman and Cal Ripken Jr. to name two — both immensely talented) but neither stood out in the way Jordan did. He seemingly single-handedly rendered opponents helpless and controlled the game in the process.
Michael Jordan, though, would be the first to tell you he did not do it single-handedly. Every best actor winner needs a great supporting cast. In fact, the first person Jordan mentioned when he got to the podium was Scottie Pippen.
Jordan did what no one else could do because he did what no one else would do: work incessantly toward the simple goal of getting better. He wowed us with his talent, yes, but more importantly his work ethic, demonstrating that he was almost a single man among boys on the court.
You can’t get to the professional level today without working hard. There are plenty incredible athletes competing today as a testament.
But, then again, perhaps that is why Michael Jordan is the first truly standout player of our generation to hit the hall. Maybe most pros these days now have a Jordan-esque work ethic. Today’s athletes seem to be so good at what they do and so close to perfection in their specialty, in order for a Michael Jordan-caliber player to exist today he would have to be ahead of his time.
Jordan deserves absolutely every record and award he received during his storied career.
With this being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing his achievements and records eclipsed or broken. Scratch that. I want to see them smashed. Absolutely demolished.
I want person after person to come along and mercilessly annihilate every one, leaving no doubt as to who was the better player.
If that ends up happening, our generation is truly in for a treat.
