Come Fly With Me. Better Yet, Fuck Your Own Face.

It's been a busy week for sports, I mean, hell - the NFL is back! So much to write about, so little time. That said, I do want to rewind a bit and take a moment to weigh in on the Michael Jordan Hall Of Fame acceptance speech from last Friday.

I remember standing in the hallway of Leaksville Intermediate with the rest of my 5th grade class, and not being able to keep from looking down at my feet. How could I not? I had the first pair of 'Air' Jordan's, along with some bad ass checker boarded laces to top them off. At the time, most of my friends had to settle for 'Sky' Jordan's', but fortunately I was tall enough to fit into the 'Air's' which started at size 7.











Over the next few years I would own several versions of the classic shoe. At the same time, I would eat, sleep, and breathe basketball. My room would be filled with posters of Jordan, and my closet was full of Bulls and Flight gear.



I'd watch every game that the Bulls played, and if they were not playing, I was for watching my VHS copy of 'Come Fly With Me'. It was the ultimate hype video before heading to YMCA for an afternoon of basketball.



Let's put it this way. It was a great time to be a kid, but a hard time to be a parent. It was magical to grow up idolizing the world's greatest basketball player, but definitely less exciting for my mom and her pocketbook.

That was over 20 years ago...

Two decades, six championships, and three retirements later... Michael Jordan had been inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame. And, if you haven't heard, it was a memorable speech. You can get up to speed on youtube, or read this article on Yahoo Sports here.



I've watched the video several times and really gone back and forth on how I feel about Jordan and his speech. At the age of 34, I've learned to separate the personality of my idols and their talent. Everybody's human and everybody has their shit, but it's still a hard lesson to learn. That being said, Jordan's performance at the Hall Of Fame induction was not this sort of separation, but instead was the ultimate integration of personality and talent. It was an amazing glimpse into the mind of a man who is one of the greatest athletes and competitors in history.

Trust me, Michael would much rather take his shots at Isiah Thomas and Magic on the court, but that's not an option any more. His competitive nature still rages, and since he can no longer take it on the court, well, he decided to take advantage of this forum.

Was it harsh? Yeah. Tasteless? yeah, a little. But, to Michael Jordan, this was not an accomplishment worthy of celebrating. Instead, it was the ultimate defeat. The sport of basketball was attempting to put a period at the end of the sentence, and the champ was determined to go down swinging. He even suggested that he may come back at 50, and honestly it would not surprise me.

After much deliberation, I can't fault Jordan for his speech. In fact, I wouldn't expect anything less. This man changed the game, and all the great players of today are only following in the footsteps that he pioneered. With players like Kobe and LeBron, fans are now benefiting from the gift Jordan gave us. It's the whole new generation of player that grew up in the Jordan era. For Jordan, I'm sure he'd give anything to be on the court with those guys right now, if only to show them that there will never be another Michael Jordan.

Although, can you imagine if Michael Jordan had the physical attributes of LeBron James? There would be more than just bruised egos on the court.

So, I'll be looking out for Jordan in the coming years. Bring it back baby. Pretend aging is Patrick Ewing, and go baseline and dunk over that shit.

If anyone can, it's you...