Sunday, March 13, 2011

Chapter 6: "The Greatest Endorser of the Twentieth Century" or "An Insidious Form of Imperialism"?

The Bulls did not win the NBA Championship the year he returned, and a new wave of players entered the league to challenge Jordan. Jordan responded by working hard to retool his game - he knew he was not as athletic as he once was, so he focused on beating teams with his jump shot. It proved successful, as he one his eighth scoring title in 1995-1996 and led the Bulls to a title while setting a regular season record with 72 wins and only 10 losses. He then beat the Utah Jazz for two straight years in the finals to complete his second 3-peat of NBA Championships. With his last shot being the game-winner to clinch the title in '98, he retired from basketball after that season.

Of course everyone knows now that he came back for a second time, playing with the Washington Wizards. by the time he retired in 1998, however, he cemented his status in the league, the US, and the rest of the world. Right after his second retirement in 1998, Fortune Magazine estimated that he had a $10 billion dollar impact on the US economy, but the number was far greater when including the entire world he affected. He was perfectly matched with the time he was in, as "nearly everyone who had been pulled into Jordan's orbit was sucked in by television", and all of the new technology of the times. He influenced people and economies in all regions, including countries in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe, which I experienced personally living in Austria. There is no doubt that Jordan stood alone as the most popular sports and commercial figure in the world.

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