Michael Jordan throws up a brick - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cscmc1 · #16 09-14-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

One part that really struck me as petty was his flying the guy who kept a spot on the varsity in high school ahead of him. Jordan was a sophomore at the time, not sure about the other guy, Leroy Smith, he was an upperclassman is all I could find, but if he was a senior, oh golly, a sophomore playing second fiddle to a senior. How tragic.

I found this site about the guy Leroy Smith, the guy who beat him out for the spot in high school. The guy is apparently trying hard to make a buck off of his association with Jordan, who knows, maybe Jordan is a bit put off by it.

http://www.getyourbasketballon.com/home/index.html#/smith

Do you think that just maybe there's a little humor in that site... and all the other "Leroy Smith" internet references?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/090602

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koGD6XnAsNs

Look familiar? That's Eddie Murphy's brother, not the "real" Leroy Smith.

Anyway, I suspect MJ was just playing up to that whole story... not that the rest of the speech was anything special. Pretty mundane, as far as acceptance speeches go, I thought.

MTI · #17 09-14-2009, 01:14 PM

Can't wait to hear Serena William's speech at the Tennis HoF . . .

Fitz · #18 09-14-2009, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I used to sit courtside, or nearly so in Seattle when I could sneak down to some empty season ticket seats. It's a bit of a rush to see those incredible specimens up close, moving with such grace and power.

A rush was it?

cmac2012 · #19 09-14-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cscmc1

Do you think that just maybe there's a little humor in that site... and all the other "Leroy Smith" internet references?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/090602

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koGD6XnAsNs

Look familiar? That's Eddie Murphy's brother, not the "real" Leroy Smith.

Anyway, I suspect MJ was just playing up to that whole story... not that the rest of the speech was anything special. Pretty mundane, as far as acceptance speeches go, I thought.

Oops. I was thinking the guy in the video didn't look like the guy MJ was making squirm and smile sheepishly at the Hall of Fame induction.

cmac2012 · #20 09-14-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz

A rush was it?

Oh hey buddy! You don't disappoint. Yeah, I sorta got a thrill up my leg.

Get a clue pal. Go sit courtside at an NBA game and get back to me. Ever wonder why Jack Nicholson hardly ever misses a Lakers' home game? Jeez, what a homo . . .

Yeah, it was *#&^$^*#% rush.

cscmc1 · #21 09-14-2009, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Oops. I was thinking the guy in the video didn't look like the guy MJ was making squirm and smile sheepishly at the Hall of Fame induction.

I think MJ was trying to say that his coach's choice to start the other guy was another motivator for him, and made him want to work harder so he could say "you made a mistake." He worded it poorly, though, and that, with some of the rest of his speech, made him sound like an egomaniac. He brought it on himself.

tankdriver · #22 09-14-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by link

Thanks for the links. I've never heard Jordan speak more than a minute before.

I didn’t see anything wrong or disparaging in Jordan’s comments. His context and his entire speech was about his competitive nature. He was reflecting on a wide range of events where he performed when sick or injured, or otherwise felt himself an underdog. And he cited those as examples of where he outperformed others, who he admired.

Part of his summary was that he wanted his competitors to know he was worthy of being inducted. And his speech was about the many many many world class teachers and athletes whose motivation he desperately needed.

I was in competitive sports while in school. You do learn a lot from your opponents and teachers and your fiercest competitors teach you the most. That is exactly what he was discussing and doing so in a laudatory way.

I think author cited at the top completely missed the intent of Jordan’s comments or otherwise has a chip on his shoulder.

Yeah, I saw 0 wrong with it. He had a few roast-style jokes, but those were fine. You'd have to have a pretty thin skin (and I don't think anyone who competed at the pro level would) to not take it in the spirit it was meant. The Krause thing may have been a little dig, although Jordan's point was that players have to play the game.

cmac2012 · #23 09-15-2009, 03:43 AM

The thing with the upperclassman who was put on varsity ahead of him bothers me because of the way he said it. Something like, "He's still 6'7", game probably hasn't changed much," in a kind of eye rolling tone of voice. And the author of the article in the OP claims that Jordan flew him out for the presentation. Jeez invited him in and then dissed him.

I do agree that the speech wasn't as bad on him as the author claimed. You have to admire his game and dedication. I have a hard time shaking, however, the memory of the way he would sometimes diss the refs for what he thought was a bad call. This was about the worst behavior in that category I can recall. You'd have to see it to believe it, and I couldn't find any clips of it, not surprisingly. On top of that, he probably got light treatment anyway.

I've reffed B-Ball games and it is seriously hard - much harder than it is when you're in the stands and you have the luxury of not having to blow the whistle right on the spot, and you can more leisurely come to a decision. Some things are easier to see from more of a distance, others not as easy.

I doubt MJ has ever reffed a game, and even if he did, no one would take it seriously or give him any grief, after all, he's Michael.