The Last Dance EP 7&8

The Last Dance has been phenomenal for many reasons. As a sports fan that was born in 1996, I was not alive to experience the pandemonium that was Michael Jordan and the Bulls in their hey-day. As a sports broadcaster and story teller, I am also fascinated on how this piece was put together and all of the talent that are showcased in this documentary who are still working some thirty years later. My biggest takeaway from episode's seven and eight was how physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting it was for Michael Jordan to pursue greatness to the level in which he did.

These episodes discussed the death of his father, his short stint with baseball, his return and crushing defeat to the Magic, and then the triumph of the 72-10 Bulls. The way these stories were weaved together was masterful but my takeaways showcase what high regard Jordan had for his father and how he pushed himself and teammates to the limit. At the end of both episodes we see intense emotion from Michael. At the end of ep 7, its him asking to end the interview because he was discussing how his actions as a teammate are discussed historically. At the end of 8 we see and hear the audio of Jordan in the locker room after winning his first NBA Championship after the passing of his father. The amount of emotion that is exuded is enormous. Personally, I can sense just how much winning was worth to him. My opinion though is that all of this returns to his want to make his parents and especially his father proud.

Therefore, all of the negative media backlash, the disgusting commentary made during his time as member of the Bulls, the rumors on gambling addiction, the egregious remarks that his father's death was connected to his gambling, and the long laundry list of other unfairly leveled remarks really took a toll on him. This documentary while it is a celebration of the Bulls success has done a lot in my opinion to humanize a figure that everyone tends to be deified. No other episodes up to this point in the documentary have portrayed this humanization quite like ep 7 and 8. This humanization gives you a better appreciation of the talent that Jordan possessed, but also the toll it takes to be great. Anyone can discuss his tactics like berating his teammates with comments to make them mentally tough. We can discuss the psyche of an individual who literally made up a story in his own head to embarrass a rookie and give hime a reason to compete (LaBradford Smith, I am sorry MJ did you like that). If there is one thing that's not up for debate it is the results. Are you willing to go to such great lengths, push yourself and others to these limits, and also potentially be crucified for it, all in the name of winning? Only you can answer that question. We do know Jordan's answer and he has plenty of hardware to show for it.