In case you missed it yesterday, Michael Jordan gave his induction speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Part 2 here and Part 3 here.
Alot of mixed reactions to the speech which is to be expected. Certainly, Jordan comes across as brash, arrogant, even condescending. Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo!Sports called it "petty" and "a bully tripping nerds with lunch trays in the school cafeteria." If MJ weren't involved with the game of basketball today, then it wouldn't necessarily have been so bad. But the main problem with the speech was that it does nothing to help him in the now, as a basketball executive. He should have been thinking of himself as a representative of the Charlotte Bobcats, rather than attempting to capitalize on this brief spotlight to snark on past slights.
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RunNGun14
September 12, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Say what you want, but in my opinion, if MJ didn't have that kind of cockiness and arrogance about him, he also wouldn't have that competitive fire and confidence that makes him so great.
Q McCall
September 12, 2009 at 6:22 PM
RunNGun,
I see your point.
But a little humility would have been nice in this situation -- if you're already being inducted into the Hall of Fame, why do you have to give us a speech telling us that you're the best? The very fact that you're up there -- as essentially the featured speaker -- already acknowledges your greatness.
Much respect for all that he's accomplished, but I felt the speech was extreme.
ceasordennis
September 12, 2009 at 10:11 PM
I'm glad he stayed true to himself. A lot of people got sucked up in the whole plastic "MJ" that was presented by Nike, Gatorade, etc. He's a real dude, and everything he spoke about on stage were the things that added kindling to his desire to be the best. I never really liked the dude as a person, but as a ball player, which is what he was being honored for, I don't have a problem at all with his speech.
That fake humbleness and PC stuff is for the commercials and marketing department. I know a lot people will disagree with me on this, but if you want that, just go to youtube and there are plenty of commercials and watered down interviews to watch. This was his opportunity to let people into MJ the person, what made him who he was as a player, and he took full advantage of it. Glad he had the opportunity to finally do it.