GOAT. This stands for “Greatest Of All Time.” After watching the first two episodes of The Last Dance, what appeared obvious before has become even more indisputable.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is No. 1. In basketball. In all of history. Maybe in all of sports.
This documentary, amidst the dread and darkness of Covid-19, is inspirational. As we’re feeling distressed, this has boosted us. It has made us smile and taught us to both forget and remember. Forget the sadness of the virus; remember the joyfulness of MJ.
Watching Michael Jordan is nostalgic. For many of us who grew up watching His Airness, we’re brought back to the greatest era in basketball. To an ‘80s music lover like myself, it’s like listening to Duran Duran, Dire Straits and Depeche Mode. You feel good during and after. Watching the two 50-minute episodes made me feel good.
The Last Dance is perfectly-timed for this gloomy period. And let’s not forget that prior to the coronavirus shutting down the planet — the basketball world was shocked by the death of Kobe Bryant.
It’s been a sickening 2020, worst for basketball devotees. The Last Dance is a much-needed morale booster for the 7.8 billion people on earth, basketball fan or not.
The 10-part miniseries produced by ESPN and Netflix was supposed to be released in June, in time for the NBA Finals. But it was shown earlier because, as the official trailer said, “As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience.”
Apart from the “feeling good” experience, another reason why this documentary is important is this: It reminds the youth of Jordan’s greatness.
MJ is now 57 years old. To the Gen Z, those born between 1995 and 2010 (and maybe even to some Millennials), I’m sure everyone has seen footages and snippets of His Airness. Everybody knows that he’s better than LeBron James, the second greatest player of all time. I mean, who doesn’t know Mike? Who doesn’t know No. 23? Who hasn’t seen YouTube videos of him sticking his tongue out, floating for 23 seconds and beaming that gigantic smile?
Everybody knows Mike. But not everybody watched those 1990s games “live” — all six championship years.
The Last Dance is our last chance to see the life story of this man who now owns the Charlotte Hornets and is worth $2.1 billion.
Thank you, MJ. And despite the leaked files that have surfaced (8 of the 10 episodes are now available by Torrent), I’m going to watch the Netflix series twice per week, as advertised, prolonging the indulgence as our lockdown is prolonged.
