The Last Dance Ep. 1 & 2

Sports has been gone for six weeks. It could have been gone for six months and if I had known these episodes were going to be THAT GOOD I wouldn't have cared... maybe that is an exaggeration because of the feelings I am having right now, but holy shit that was amazing.

ESPN did a flawless job with this documentary so far. Two episodes in and I know more about MJ than I ever have before. I have been around the game of basketball for my entire life, and it has been the front runner in developing my love for sports. I've owned multiple MJ jerseys that I have gotten for gifts as I grew up, and never worn them as proudly as I should've. This documentary has shined a light on the GOAT like a kid born in the late 90s had never seen before.

Let's first start out with one of the hardest pictures of all time. We have all seen it before but this picture gave me chills when it showed up:

This dude really pulled up to the dunk contest, threw down some signature cradles, reverses, and jumped from the free throw line... a very impressive range of dunks... BUT TO DO IT IN A GOLD CHAIN? Might be the hardest flex in any all star weekend of all time (Shaq's remote control shoe, KryptoNATE, Superman [the first time], and Paul Pierce's dual flipped phone probably follow, but the gold chains has to take the cake).

Next, I give you the greatest villain in sports history, Jerry Krause. The man who singlehandedly hates a good storyline. I knew Scottie Pippen as the Robin to MJ's Batman, but never knew the controversy that surrounded Pippen (again, I am too young to know these things detail). Jerry Krause in the words of Jordan "was looking to tank," and it wasn't just MJ's injury that surrounded that, but also just flat out not wanting to pay Pippen. Your leading assist guy on the team is your number six man on the pay roll, AND THE 122nd IN THE LEAGUE. THAT IS UTTER BULLSHIT. Without Pippen we see what this Bulls team looks like. MJ has to drop 63 points in a pivotal game two against the best team in the league (The Boston Celtics), just to lose by 4 in a complete dog fight. Without Pippen that team doesn't have a shot at being who they are, and it is all thanks to Jerry Krause. The only other Jerry who was this bad was Jerry Heller, who had the greatest rap group in history, NWA, and also let money split the group up (Seeing a trend here... its money, and selfishness in the front office). Apparently, a white man named Jerry is the kryptonite to a group of colored men's success in the late 80s / early 90s. THE ABSOLOUTE WORST PART ABOUT KRAUSE IS NOT WANTING TO PAY PHIL JACKSON? Telling the greatest coach in professional basketball he has "one season left" is horse shit. If Krause kept Pippen and Jackson happy, and wasn't a selfish short man, he wouldn't have had problems with the squad. The only good thing that Krause gave us was the "I'm not gonna fuck my summer up" quote from Scottie Pippen, so thanks again for sucking Krause, cause the greatest #2 man on any squad every gave us an incredible quote.

Next, we talk Scottie Pippen. Could you ask for a better sidekick? Hamburg, Arkansas. What is good about that place other than the Pippen family, well that is up for debate (and I'd like for someone to let me know). Jimmy Chitwood and Scottie Pippen are the two greatest ballers to ever come off playing from a broke hoop that is in the dirt near their barn, and that isn't up for discussion. Scottie Pippen is an NBA great and we all know this, but highlighting everything that man did on an average players paycheck is awesome. He isn't just a great basketball player, he is humanitarian. Living with two people in a wheelchair in your immediate family isn't something I would wish on my worst enemy, but he made that apart of why he wanted to be great. He wanted to give back to his family. His family impoverished, and unfortunately crippled, he has a true hero's story. Going to an NAIA school, and just pestering the coach to give you a spot on the team after having a five inch growth spurt is such a cool story line, and something I am glad they included. "You can't talk Michael Jordan without talking Scottie Pippen" -Michael Jordan. That is awesome. Batman knows he isn't the same without Robin -- a true one, two punch.

Next, the Michael Jordan "got cut" story line. Making the JV squad irks many people with that competitive edge. The guy who wants it more than anyone else doesn't want to look the head coach in the eye and be told "sorry, you just aren't good enough this year". So, MJ worked hard, and gave everyone a solid ~20ppg* on the JV squad (*note the 45 and 44 point outings):

I'm going to have to say, no matter who you are, you are going to have to work hard at life if you want to even have the chance at being the greatest, and that is just what Jordan did.

MJ at UNC was a whole different beast. Letting this dude eat up at other 18-22 year olds wasn't fair. I've seen his UNC highlights plenty, but watching it tonight was different. He went hard every second and didn't give up. "The Shot" isn't just against the Utah Jazz, but it is also in the NCAA tournament for young MJ. To have two buzzer beaters that led to championships named "The Shot" is unreal, and only the greatest of all time can hold that title TWICE.

Jordan's family is next. All of his siblings have to know him better than anyone else in the world, and I am glad they got a good ~15 minutes of air time. Larry, MJ's brother, talking about how it was hard to play against Michael because he never gave up is exactly what people want to hear about him. I had these same kinds of games with my friends growing up. We would argue about "the buzzer sounding before the release," and would fight through tears to argue calls, but in the end, it was brotherly love that kept the games happening out in the front yard every day. Jordan mentioned how having to argue with his brothers about sports was one of the hardest things in his life, and that tells you everything you needed to know about how much bite these DAWGS had.

Listening to his parents talk was awesome too. His mom looks damn good for being 78. (78? Yeah, unless Google lied, she is the youngest 78 year old I have ever seen. Shout out her skin care routine.) His dad mentioned everything about how important sports were to all of his kids, especially Michael. This again was a nostalgic moment. We all played in little leagues growing up, and that is a special time in the development of a sport's fan fandom. Competition is just so great and the throwback pictures of MJ in his little league gear was another nostalgic moment.

Best tweets about ep. 1 & 2:

Crazy that they just call Obama "Former Chicago Resident" as if that is the only thing on his resume...

Throwback to my last blog:

I know I missed a ton of things (and this blog is just me running through all of the awesomeness I can remember from the last two hours) but wow, this documentary is great so far, and I CANNOT wait for episodes 3-10. This 30for30 is really giving me my crack high of sports that has been absent for a month.

PS - This soundtrack goes unmatched (Guardians of the Galaxy [2014] a close second). I don't want to spoil any of the songs because me stating them without ESPN setting the scene won't have the same effect, but hot damn that went hard.