As a kid growing up in 80s/90s Cleveland....I hated Jordan. Hated him and his stupid tongue. He ruined us every time. Even added to the pantheon of Cleveland sports failures like "The Drive" and "The Fumble" with the infamous "The Shot."
You see Cav Craig Ehlo just crumple in his knees in utter defeat, just like the rest of us. Here he is on the left in mid-crumple.
So yeah. I hated the guy and his arrogance and I hated all the fair-weather fans that weren't even from Chicago. I was so blinded by bitterness that I never got to appreciate what a force of nature he was.
Well, not too long after all that, we got our own force of nature that also ruined plenty of teams' playoff dreams. And while it didn't work out as well for him as it did for MJ, I completely forgive LeBron for leaving us, cause he came back and delivered a championship in Game 7 against one of the greatest NBA teams of all time. I consider Game 7 2016 the finest pro-sports moment I've ever witnessed.
All this time passed so I finally decided to give MJ a shot. What a great docu-series. I hated the Bulls my whole life and even I was pumping my fists at the end of episode 10. Really good stuff and highly recommended, especially when so much else on TV is crap.
Ironically, my favorite scene in the show wasn't about MJ. It was when the supposed "bad boy" himself, Dennis Rodman, showed such a touching and human act of kindness, no lie, it brought tears to my eyes. It was.....episode 3 I think?
There's this wide eyed kid, obviously from out of town, waiting after the game with his family for an autograph. Rodman gives him one and the kid just about jumps out of his skin with unbelievable joy. As if that's not enough, Rodman whips around and gives the starstruck boy his (likely) game worn shoes. The kid just about blew up he was beaming so much. Yeah, I'm a softie. I got misty-eyed. I love seeing those kinds of acts of kindness, especially from "super-stars."
