A very Jordan experience

By God's grace, I got near-courtside seats for the Friday Nov 16 Wizard's game. They played the Jazz. Michael Jordan scored 44 points.

Neither I nor sports editor Ben Penn could have envisioned what was going to be Jordan's best shooting night of his second comeback. We had no idea we would be so close to the living legend, the man ESPN called the greatest athlete of the century. The distance between Jordan and us was so little we could hear him talk trash as he flew by.

Jordan inbounded only 10 feet away from me. After watching him hit jumper after jumper against his old archenemies, hitting foul shot after shot, tearing apart everything Utah threw at him, I wanted to go up and pat him on the back.

All the tripe you've heard from sportscasters and columnists is unfair to Jordan. He played nearly every minute. He carried his team, as he has so many times. No one Utah player could guard him, as unfortunate 2nd year victim Scott Patterson found out. He made little Johnny Stockton and Karl Malone look ancient by comparison.

I wanted to heckle Jordan, because I was close enough, and because it might get his attention. I had the chance to give the greatest an earful. The only words I could muster were "Oh my God, you're so good!"

Even though I only got to see the second half (long story), I left the game with the satisfaction of seeing the best do his best in an ideal spot. It was, I imagine, like seeing Mays hit and field, like watching Koufax pitch, or Bird dish the perfect assist, or Walter Payton break every single defender that got in his way.