Remember watching “The Last Dance” on ESPN last spring?
The 10-hour documentary series, chronicling Michael Jordan’s last season as a Chicago Bull was the biggest sporting event for 5 straight weeks in the dog days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We had no live sports to watch. None.
But, we all came together every Sunday night to watch this incredible glimpse back into sports history.
I found myself thinking about “The Last Dance” on Wednesday for a couple of reasons.
First, it reminded me that our country could be galvanized.
That all hope is not lost.
That we could put our differences aside – maybe for just 2 hours a week – to watch basketball highlights set over 90’s rap music.
And secondly, I was reminded of something that wasn’t in “The Last Dance.”
Michael Jordan seldom, if ever, took a stance on a social or political cause.
His philosophy was that everybody buys sneakers, so why risk sales potential by angering a group of people.
Fair enough, but count me as happy that those days are over.
For the 2nd consecutive night, social protests, not slam dunks took precedence at Fiserv Forum.
NBA stars didn’t back away from discussing the events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol.
They embraced the conversation.
Like it or not, sports and life are more indelibly intertwined than they’ve every been.
Sorry, MJ. That’s the way it should be.
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