For the Love of the Game: My Story By Michael Jordan For the Love of the Game is a very good book that puts Michael Jordan’s words into a story about dedication and basketball. He talks about the tough times he had during his career and the many achievements he had with the Chicago Bulls. The book has very good information and reading it in Michael Jordan’s words makes the entire book better. Michael is a great example for people all ages and this book shows people the way of life for Michael and also a lot about basketball. Michael begins the book telling about how he always went outside and played basketball to clear his mind and to sort out problems. He tells how the when he first went to the Chicago Bulls they had a rule against playing basketball during the off-season.
Michael could not stand this rule so he went to the Bulls’ management to straighten this rule out. After a couple weeks of debating, Michael and Jerry Krause (the Bulls General Manager) came up with the “Love of the Game Clause.” Michael got his way, like usual. Later Mike talks about playing against his childhood role model Julius Erving, better known as “Dr. J.” Dr. J was known for his amazing slam-dunks and the way he could handle the ball.
Michael mentioned that Julius encouraged him to stay clean and keep his head on straight, which Michael did amazingly well especially under his popularity and always being under the spotlight. Michael also talked about how he never wanted to sign with Nike because he had been an Adidas fanatic ever since high school. These days Michael makes 5. 1 billion dollars a year from Nike alone and they also helped him open his own line of sports clothes, Jordan Brand. One fascinating encounter was when Nike made the first “Air Jordan” shoe. The shoe didn’t match the Bulls’ uniforms so NBA Commissioner David Stern started fining Michael $5000 for each game he wore them.
Nike was willing to pay the fines and Michael continued to wear the shoes. Eventually the NBA banned the shoes from the playing floor and the sales skyrocketed. The publicity that the league’s ban made would have cost millions but Nike’s scam worked great. Nike’s first commercial about the whole ordeal showed Michael’s head and the camera slowly moved down his body to his feet and when the camera hit the shoes a big “X” was stamped on the screen. Good sales pitch. In the 1985 All-Star Game Michael’s first impression was to impress.
Things didn’t start out to great when he started warming up in his “Air Jordan” warm-up suit. Some certain players thought Mike was being disrespectful but he thought he was just doing Nike a favor since they invested so much money in him. In Michael’s second season he broke his leg and he tells how that situation was the biggest test of his career. After he broke his foot Michael worked very hard to get his strength back. He worked out so much and so hard that his broken leg became even stronger than his healthy one.
When Michael became healthy enough to play, Michael, the coaches, and the team management had a meeting to see if Michael could come back. They got in a big argument and Michael was very upset. He accused their management of not letting him play because they wanted to lose more games to get a better pick in the NBA Draft. They made up a system that let Michael play seven minutes a half, Michael knew from that point on that he couldn’t stand Jerry Reins dorf and Jerry Krause, the team General Managers. In the 1989, Michael’s life would start to change rapidly. He says that he became a man from the years 1989 to 1993.
First, he got married to his lovely wife Juanita, they had three kids, and he also had great success in basketball. Michael and the Bulls won three NBA Championships in a row. Through this very surprising and exciting time Michael also had many bumpy times. Michael got caught up in gambling and got a lot of criticism from fans and the press. Michael was becoming physically and mentally drained. But his troubles were just beginning, what happened next changed Michael’s life forever.
After Michael and the Bulls won their third straight championship, Michael’s father James was reported missing. After about a two-week search James was found dead in a river near Chicago. Two young college men had murdered him. Nobody knows why the kids stabbed him 4 times and dumped him, but Michael sometimes worries that the murder had something to do with his gambling problem. This was a huge loss for Michael and the Jordan family.
Michael retired from basketball two months later. Michael’s next mission was baseball. He had always wanted to try it and his dad always had thought he could excel on the baseball diamond like he did on the wood floor. He tried out for a minor league team and made the Chicago White Sox’s “Double A” team, the Birmingham Bruins.
Michael remembers his baseball times as some of the best times of his life. Although he didn’t do as well as he wanted to he still had fun. Baseball didn’t last long. Michael got invited to play in Scottie Pippen’s basketball game for charity and he whooped up on everyone. The baseball strike had begun so Michael walked away and returned to the Bulls. The Bulls were struggling and Michael’s return was very special for them.
When Michael came back, he didn’t want to wear his usual number 23 because his father had seen him play his last game in that number and he thought that this could be a new beginning. Instead of 23 he chose 45 because 45 divided by 2 = 22. 5 and that rounded is 23. Michael always had stories behind the numbers he wore. When he played in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona Michael wore the number nine because 4 plus 5 is nine. Michael’s older brother Larry was number 45 in high school and Michael thought he would be half as good as Larry was so that’s how he got 23 in the first place.
Michael returned to the NBA in his number 45 jersey with a boom. In only his third game back, Michael put up a “Double Nickel” (55 points) against the New York Knicks. Michael had returned after the All-Star break so he and the Bulls were kind of out of the normal flow. The Bulls were eliminated in the 1995 playoffs by Orlando.
That off-season Michael made the movie “Space Jam.” The director of the movie, David Falk, made Michael a set so he could shoot the movie and also work on his basketball. Players like Reggie Miller and Grant Hill came to play with Michael and his skills came back quickly. The Bulls won 3 more NBA Championships in a row. Michael and the Bulls dominated again and they had nothing else to prove. The Jordan Dynasty was for sure over now and he had put an impact on the sports world that no other athlete will ever do. I think that in 1000 years people will still know Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan Michael Jordan grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. He went to Laney High School where he played basketball, football, and baseball. After high school Michael went to the University of North Carolina and played basketball for the Tar Heels. Michael and the Tar Heels won the NCAA Championship Michael’s freshman year. When Michael was a Junior in college, he decided to enter the NBA Draft. Michael went to the Chicago Bulls where he won 6 NBA championships and many, many awards.
Michael has his wife Juanita and three kids. Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine. After basketball, Michael started his own clothing line and also plays a lot of golf. Michael will always be remembered for his high flying slam-dunks and always keeping a cool head.
He is a role model for people all ages and in my eyes is one of the greatest people on earth. He is very talented even off the basketball court. He is my idol and I will always have a warm feeling when I think about him.