Today is special. Today is wonderful. Today is spectacular. Today is the day that Michael Jordan turns 50!
Unbelievable.
The preparation for this day has been impressive. Apparently, ESPN has been showing highlights all week, and MJ highlights are being viewed pretty frequently on YouTube. There have been hundreds of articles written and lists compiled about everything you could imagine: facts people didn’t know about MJ, 50 greatest MJ moments, greatest MJ stats, 100 greatest MJ photos, etc.
What I’ve decided to share with you all today is a brand-new perspective: something you can’t find in those articles, something that none of those highlights can give you. I’m sure you have always wondered how I became obsessed with basketball and then with Michael Jordan (or was it in the opposite order?). Well, now is your chance to find out. This is the condensed version of my story.
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Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Krista who was not quite 3 years old and was living in Thailand with her incredible parents and incredible little sister. In case it isn’t obvious, I was that little girl, so I’ll tell the rest of the story in first person instead of third person.
Don’t knock the hair, OK? It was hot in Thailand!
During one of my family’s visits to the U.S., a Chicago Bulls game “just happened” to be on TV at a relative’s house. One of the Bulls – who had a shaved head – really stood out to me, so I mentioned him to my family members as “The Man Without Any Hair.” I was told that he was Michael Jordan and that he was very talented. I was hooked, both on watching Michael Jordan and on basketball.
Oh, and I was hooked on Wheaties. MJ was the first athlete to grace the front of a Wheaties box, so, naturally, my very young self ate it as much as I could. I called it “Basketball Cereal” (or, as I actually pronounced it, “Bakiball Gereal”).
My family eventually left the mission field in Thailand and moved back to the U.S., where I continued to be obsessed with basketball. I joined the Air Jordan Flight Club, which was the official Michael Jordan fan club, and I constantly watched “Michael Jordan’s Playground,” which is still my favorite film of MJ highlights.
Dunking with flair, age 4
When I was 5 or so, someone gave me a Michael Jordan miniature hoop to hang on the wall (not the one in the picture above). I would practice shooting and dunking for lo-o-o-o-ong periods of time, sometimes dunking so hard that the rim would pop off and need to be reattached by one of my loving parents. “Circular!” was, for some reason, my code word for “Hey, the rim came off again. Help, please!”
Also around this time, my mom and I were at a store, and I saw a kid-sized Michael Jordan uniform. The store had other players’ uniforms, too, and I remember thinking that it was such a waste to have other uniforms for sale. I mean, why anyone would bother to buy a uniform other than Michael Jordan’s? I asked my mom if I could have it, and she said that we could put it on lay-away until I saved up enough money to buy it. And, at age 6, I did. It was my first “big” purchase that required diligent saving.
Here I am with my favorite purchase. The ’90s-esque capris were definitely NOT part of the outfit, but I loved them, for some reason. I still have the jersey (not the capris)!
In contrast to MJ’s outgoing, marketable personality, I was pretty shy when I was growing up, especially around people I didn’t know. So it was a HUGE deal (and it said a lot about my love for basketball) when I signed up to play basketball for the Lancaster Rec Commission: as a member of the Wildcats when I was 9 and as a member of the Panthers when I was 10.
I was #12 for the Wildcats. I didn’t know this then, but Michael Jordan even wore #12 for one game with the Chicago Bulls in 1990 when his #23 jersey was stolen before the game. MJ and I have a connection!
I have never understood why they took our Panthers individual and team photos immediately after a game.
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It was when I was 10 that Michael Jordan won his sixth NBA Championship. I remember staying with my grandma while watching Game 6 of the Finals against the Jazz. When MJ stole the ball from Karl Malone and then ended up hitting the winning shot, Grandma and I were ecstatic! In my journal, I even drew a diagram of the shot that John Stockton of the Jazz missed as time expired. The caption? “Stockton’s losing shot.” Ha!
So what ever ended up happening to that little girl in Thailand, you ask? You know, the one who dubbed MJ “The Man Without Any Hair,” munched on “Bakiball Gereal,” and saved up to buy a replica Michael Jordan uniform?
Well, I ended up watching hours upon hours of MJ highlights, which helped me to hone my basketball skills in middle school, high school, and college. I was part of some pretty great teams, including…
2004-2005 Dayspring Warriors (This is most of us, anyway.)
2005-2006 Houghton Highlanders
Oh, and in 2008, I finally got a chance to see the Michael Jordan statue in front of the United Center in Chicago:
It was a life-changing moment. Everyone should visit the United Center!
But what if there had been no Michael Jordan, no one to inspire me to play basketball? Well, I probably wouldn’t have been hooked on the sport and therefore wouldn’t have played! Instead, maybe I would have played tennis:
With impeccable form like that, haha.
Or maybe softball:
Maybe with a different handpicked outfit.
Honestly, it’s kind of strange to think about life without basketball!
So I don’t know about you, but I’m going to celebrate today! My plans? I’m going to shoot some hoops, and then I’m going to watch my all-time favorite: “Michael Jordan’s Playground.”
Happy 50th, MJ!
~Krista
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