Taking Flight: The Michael Jordan Effect

Growing up in Chicago, sports was a big deal. Like the changing of the seasons, sports also followed suit. We played all the major sports; baseball, football and basketball. Especially basketball because it was the sport that required the least amount of players, five on each team. But we also played full court 4 on 4 or half court 3 on 3. We even played 2 on 2 or 1 on 1.

It was easy to organize a game. And when we couldn’t make it to the school yard or any indoor court, we would break off the bottom of a milk crate and nail the rest to a telephone pole, garage or tree. Alley ball was the best! Summertime Chi…

I remember going to my first Bulls game. I was 13 years old. I went with the Boys and Girls Club. It was at the old Chicago Stadium. The stars at that time were Artis Gilmore (big man with a big fro who ruled the paint), Reggie Theus (smooth as silk) and Orlando Woolridge (who I thought was cool because his number was 0).

But in 1984 things changed. No one really paid attention to the Bulls before then. And honestly, we didn’t know who Michael Jordan was when he got drafted by the Bulls. I was in high school at that time and when the season started, we quickly realized there was a new star in Chicago.

The 80s showed promise, but the 90s? Wow! To be born and raised in Chicago, then experiencing the Chicago Bulls of the 90s led by Jordan was beyond exciting! Chicago coined the phrase “threepeat” since the Bulls did it twice. It unified the city in a magical way.

We witnessed the struggle of the Jordan years going at it without help. Then the pieces came together. We also felt Jordan’s pain when his father was murdered and it broke our hearts when he retired in his prime.

The baseball experiment was tough to watch. At least he was on the White Sox.

Then he came back! This time wearing number 45, since 23 had been retired. But after some dude on an opposing team made fun of Jordan and said he was old and slow, Jordan came back stronger than ever while sporting the 23 once more! Followed by another threepeat! Chicago couldn’t get enough.

Jordan was definitely an influence in my young adult life. His tenacity, his drive, his will to win championships at all cost, his ability to finish an opponent, his determination to lay it all on the line. I emulated all of those qualities in what I wanted to do. Those same qualities govern what I do as it pertains to my art and how I create spaces to showcase it. Those are my championships and I have Jordan to thank as one of my influences.