We thought we had seen the last of them, these images of Michael Jordan at play: palming the ball and faking a pass over an opponent’s head, teasing him as if he were a kitten; ball in hand, facing away from the basket, arching his back as if he wanted it scratched; leaping, hanging in the air to get a shot off, his legs splayed yet asymmetrically balanced, like the pieces of a Calder mobile; prowling pantherlike on defense; shifting with a stutter step from a calm, erect dribble into a drive down the lane, tongue wagging all the while; and of course dunking, arm out front, ball in hand, and some unfortunate running along below like a boy trying to chase a rain cloud.
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So of course the city was giddy–bordering on hysteria–when the rumors of a Jordan comeback were floated for the umpteenth time and–oh happy day–there were no denials forthcoming. And when he confirmed it, with a simple, two-word message, “I’m back,” well, if the much-abused “second coming” bordered on blasphemy then perhaps another biblical reference was more appropriate: The city was enraptured.
Jordan himself later said he felt embarrassed to be treated like a god, but he had to have expected it in some measure. Coach Phil Jackson had tried to dissuade Jordan in his initial retirement by citing his great gifts and the public’s great appreciation of them. Yet that was not something Jordan wanted to hear, as anyone who remembers the 1993 playoff season knows. The masses and their media had been in one of their periodic “let’s see how much pressure he can take” modes, and while Jordan’s exploits on the court were up to the test, his behavior off the court–petulance alternating with silence–oftentimes was not.
Overall, the Bulls were out of sync against the Orlando Magic in Jordan’s United Center debut, and prone to uncharacteristically stupid errors. Toni Kukoc committed a foul with a half-second left in the first quarter, and turncoat Horace Grant (booed with gusto) converted the two free throws to tie the game at 32 at the break. With the Bulls down 93-90 in the fourth quarter, Larry Krystkowiak picked up two technical fouls. He was ejected from his spot on the bench, but much more costly were the two free throws Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway converted to send the Magic on their way to a 106-99 victory. Jackson kept Jordan in the game even late, when he appeared gassed, explaining later, “I wanted him to have an opportunity to really play this game. And, you know, people came to see him.”
On the day he went out to play the U.S. Amateur golf final last summer, 18-year-old Tiger Woods was given a simple piece of advice by his very driven and ambitious father: “Let the legend grow.” A quote like that is priceless, but only if Woods comes from six down to win, claiming the lead on the penultimate hole by hitting a wedge into a narrow strip of grass between flagstick and water on a par three. How many other athletes, given the same advice, go out and butcher the day? The world will never know.
