In his heyday, Michael Jordan was once described by Oprah Winfrey as “the most famous person on the planet.” The clip, included in the new series which pretends to be a documentary, “The Last Dance,” might not be hyperbole. In terms of sporting figures throughout the course of history, there’s pretty much Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth in the highest pantheon of pantheons.
Yes, you have Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and more in the world of football, but Jordan is rarified air. His Airness played with the Chicago Bulls from 1984-1993, and when he came back to play for the team from 1995-1998, there was already a statue of him (deservedly so) outside the venue where he put in work every night.
Manchester United right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka wrote a post on the club website of game recognizing game. The 22-year-old defender, who won Crystal Palace’s 2018-19 Player of the Year award before being acquired last summer, wrote about his experiences in quarantine, and having ample opportunity, time wise, to view the Bulls/MJ doc, and witness the ambition and greatness of Michael Jordan.
“Yesterday I started watching The Last Dance, a big documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls,” AWB wrote.
“I’m one episode in and already it’s so inspirational. You see this absolute legend of basketball, how he started, what he went through, what he had to do to get to the top of his sport, and you can’t help but be motivated.”
“During hard times, especially like we’re in now, it just makes you think about everything.”
“Having so much time on my hands at the moment means I’ve been able to do a lot of reflecting, and it’s crazy to look at how much things have changed for me in the space of the last year.”
Wan-Bissaka went on to describe the immediate impact manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had on him, the ways in which the Norwegian has inspired him to reach higher.
He also said that he’s now completed his turn blogging on the site, and prepared to hand the reins over to left back Luke Shaw.
“Luke’s a really good guy who was a big help to me when I first joined United, and he’s also one of the jokers in the squad,” the English international wrote.
“Given that he’s also recently become a dad, I reckon he’ll be a having a very different lockdown experience to me, so I’m sure he’ll enjoy telling you all about that.”
Wan-Bissaka, along with centre back Harry Maguire, are 2019 summer acquisitions that helped solidify the back line at Old Trafford. Now, entering the 2020 summer transfer window, they could be just a right wing (perhaps Jadon Sancho?) from completing the puzzle and putting it all together now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.