Being asked what do you see is just never that easy…Whether it’s a picture of one flower among weeds, to and abstract picture or even a picture of arguably the greatest basketball player ever. In class we were asked to look at Michael Jordan’s famous dunk that won him the dunk contest and asked what did we see from a economical, social, political, as well as a cultural and psychic demensions.
A lot of the statements my classmates had were pretty good on every level…Mine seem to be the furthest left field though. Yes I see a young black man coming from being cut from his high school team to being the G.O.A.T. I do see how advertising, media, and Jordan himself take advantage of the opportunity. But what I also see is a man who like many let success and being "The Man" guide his life. Though Jordan is a legend and has been on the fame bus for quite some time he has definitely paid for it. By that, I mean with that life style comes temptation, though everyone may be tempted in some form in their life I see just another man. A man who tried to be unstoppable on and off the court. Allegedly cheating on his wife whom they are now divorced do to marital difficulties. If given the lovely chance many would definitely ask to play him one on one or even ask about his career, hsi most favorable memory playing or even how often did he practice. Typical, but me, I would ask questions that just didn’t even cross the minds of any fan. Why? Because at the end of the day basketball is a sport and that doesn’t raise that kids keep the wife happy and as we all see can’t be played forever. A man’s life isn’t just about his accomplishments but about unruly road and obstacles that make him no better than anyone who walks this earth.
This is a compelling entry about a man who was arguably the greatest basketball player ever, and yet, as our discussion of him revealed, he seems to be bitter now. I wondered about his son(s), one of whom is going to the University of Illinois. What must it be like to have a father who was a legend? Then again, what is it like to know what he is really like? I guess his wife and children could tell us more about the "real picture" of Michael Jordan that the rest of us do not see.
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