I was an 8 year old growing up in New York City.  My mother had just remarried and we just moved into a new apartment with my stepfather.  It was June, so I was counting down the days until the end of the school year and trying to complete the classic Pokemon Red version.  My stepfather was a casual sports fan, but it was the NBA finals, so the big television was only showing basketball.  Maybe it was fate or divine intervention, but the batteries to my Gameboy died and our supply of AA batteries were completely depleted.  I was left with two options: watch music videos with my older sister or watch tv with my stepfather and sulk my way to some new batteries.  I chose the latter and ended up watching all 6 games between the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle SuperSonics.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was being spoiled. Alongside the brilliance of Michael Jordan, I was watching the two best teams in the NBA battle for the championship, basketball at its highest level.

Initially, I couldn’t understand how one guy was dictating the outcome of a game involving 9 other players.  Over the course of the series, I began to understand his greatness.  They were trying to stop him, they were trying to double and triple team him, but they couldn’t do it effectively.  He was just so much better then everyone and it was really a joy to watch.  Michael Jordan made me a fan of basketball.  I’ve been a fan since that series.  Whether it was the college or the pro level, I would watch to see if anyone could ever rise to that level…

TJ