The Greatest There Ever Was

This weekend, ever so quietly, the G.O.A.T. made his final journey into basketball immortality. How strange is it, after all these years, that the final step of Michael Jordan's illustrious basketball career would be so soundly overshadowed by the start of the NFL season? A man who, for the better part of a decade starting in the late 1980s, dominated the sports world as completely and thoroughly as anyone ever has, and he was overshadowed by the start of a different league's season.

I think that the way MJ's HOF induction was covered tells us a number of things. The first thing is that many people still are unsure how to come to grips with Jordan. His name is far more famous than any other name in this world. But at this point he has become a bit of an enigma to the masses. He had the greatest stretch of any professional athlete, regardless of sport, and that time included a retirement (1988-1998). He dominated an entire era both on the individual level, as well as the team level; six NBA championships, five MVP awards, countless scoring titles, All-NBA defensive team honors as well as Defensive Player of the Year awards ... you name it, Jordan did it.

But the same things that made fans love (or hate) Jordan during his prime are the very things that leave so many wondering what to make of him now. His competitive drive, so legendary, was what drove him to levels no other man had achieved. But that same drive is now what leads to articles like this being written about how much of a bitter man he has become. Or books, like Michael Leahy's brilliant account of MJ's time with the Washington Wizards, to be written. Look, I'm a huge Michael Jordan fan, but I'm also a realist. The very things that made my childhood idol such a success are the very things that drive people away from him. I'm not the least bit surprised that he spent a portion of his acceptance speech taking shots at his High School coach (who cut him from the varsity team), or Isiah Thomas, or Jerry Krause. It was, no matter how little you might want to admit it, those people who drove Michael to the heights he reached. They all, in their own way, belittled the man who would become the greatest ever. But much as Michael used them to drive himself to higher levels, he now needs them to confirm to himself that he was worthwhile.

Being the king of the world may be lonely, but having once been the king, and now just being able to look back on it wistfully must be much worse. Michael Jordan used his demons and his competitive drive to push himself to the top. Those same aspects of him now leave him unable to come to grips with his own humanity. We often idolize people, ignoring their flaws, but when we start to embrace them, flaws and all, there can be important lessons to be learned. With Michael the lesson is obvious: always be aware of your own mortality, and know that everything has to end.