Observations on Faith: Stay Classy, MJ

As a die hard Detroit Pistons fan, I have never cheered for Michael Jordan. But I always respected him. How could you not? To me, there is no reason for people to put "arguably" in front of "the greatest basketball player of all time." The man was simply the most gifted, determined, dominant force ever to lace them up. Kobe's great, but it kills me when people want to say he's the "next MJ." I've seen stretches of games where Kobe isn't even the best player on his team. That NEVER and I mean NEVER happened with MJ. Think of all the Hall of Fame players who's only sin for not getting a ring was being born around the same time as MJ. (Most of the '92 Dream Team)

But all that dominance comes at a high price. There has been a lot said about MJ's "acceptance" speech into the hall of fame. There wasn't much "acceptance" in it. MJ came off as bitter and petty. Blowing up fools and airing grievances that go back decades. The high school coach that cut him. Byron Russel for saying he could guard him. Isiah Thomas for ignoring him. Even Jeff Van Gundy for, I dunno, being Jeff Van Gundy.

But was all this really necessary?

I mean, MJ, my man...you just got introduced as THE GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME. Do you get bonus points for then blowing up Jeff Van Gundy? You made the guy go ringless and then hairless. What more do you want?

One camp says, like the superb Michael Wilbon, say it was a glimpse at the ultimate competitor doing what he does. Another camp, says it was petty and vindicitve.

One thing I noticed was the contrast between the speeches of MJ and David Robinson. The Admiral spent the first part of his speech thanking each of his 3 sons, telling them how much he loved them and how proud he was of THEM. He then told his wife how much he loved her and how she "made him want to be a better man."