Over the weekend, I finished watching the 10-part docuseries on ESPN: “The Last Dance”. It’s the story of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls during the 1997-1998 season, leading up to a championship game.
I heard a lot of hype leading up to this airing on TV in the spring and I recorded it, but I was just waiting for the opportunity to really sit down and watch it.
I was in 7th grade in 1997 — in Indiana — and I remember how popular that Chicago Bulls team was. I feel like everyone loved Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
I remember Rodman being the controversial figure, but the documentary showed much more about his life pre-basketball. It also showed who he was on the court and off… and there were some crazy stories involving him and his then-girlfriend Carmen Electra. How 90s 🙂
I will say though, that they interviewed Rodman for the docuseries, and he still has his lip pierced, was still wearing nail polish, and I’m going to assume he’s still a badass.
There was also an entire episode dedicated to Air Jordan’s — as there should be — featuring Justin Timberlake saying he worked an after-school job just to save up for the newest pair…ha!
While the docuseries did cover a lot about the game, Jordan’s work ethic and talent, and the coaching staff, there’s a lot they showed that I had no idea about: such as all of the rumors about Jordan and gambling, and his father’s tragic death.
It was really interesting to see all of the video clips now and see Jordan and his former teammates watch them and then get their reactions.
Having learned all of this dark information about him, his retirement and move into baseball makes a lot more sense, and honestly, it makes his story so heartbreaking.
Yes, he was one of the best basketball players of all time, but he suffered so much because of his fame, as so many often do.
There was a clip from President Barak Obama and he said Black athletes or public figures are admired as long as they maintain the unspoken deal that they don’t say anything too controversial.
At the time, Jordan didn’t say or do much politically, but he did not endorse a democratic senator for his state. Instead, he was caught saying something along the lines of “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Yikes.
As a whole though, this docuseries was really well done and even though I’m not a Bulls fan, this brought be back to an interesting time in pop culture. It’s worth watching if you remember the popularity of that team (and when they went to the Olympics), even just to live in that time again.
What should I watch next?
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