By: Alex Patt
It has been over two decades since Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” with the Chicago Bulls.
Watching the ESPN documentary this past April not only reminded me of how great Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Bulls were in the 1990s, but also how much it sucks to know I was alive for the second half of that dynasty and have no recollection of it. I was born in 1994, the year Jordan played baseball, and had just turned four when the Bulls won their sixth title in 1998. Overall during the first four years of my life the Bulls won three titles, became the first 70+ game winner in 1996 and Jordan won two NBA MVP awards.
I was probably in bed asleep with my stuffed Curious George when Jordan hit the championship-winning bucket in Utah. Even if I was not I have no memories of it what so ever. The only “memories” I have is my older brother and I as a kid playing the Chicago Bulls Audio Cassette Tape (remember those things?) which had the famous intro song by The Alan Parson’s Project, “Space Jam” by Quad City DJ’s, “Rock n’ Roll (Part 2)” and other Bulls/90s classics. My earliest memories of the Bulls themselves were early/mid-2000s when Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon came into the league. My first Bulls game I was in 5th grade and it was during Christmas time of the 2004-2005 season.
I cannot help but imagine myself being old enough to witness the Jordan Bulls happening live when I think about it. I can see myself jumping up and down and going crazy when they won that thrilling game six in Utah. I can see myself trying to plan everything around games so I could to catch as many of them on TV as possible, especially during the 1996 season. And boy oh boy all the merchandise I would invest in. This all sounds super cheesy and cliché, but MAN I think about all the great sports moments I have had the privilege of witnessing and having those last three Bulls wins on the list would be so great. But alas that is not the case.
I watch the highlights often and ask other family members where they were when the Bulls won those titles, but memories and stories will never be as good as witnessing in real time. If I had to say one thing to all the sports fans who got to witness Michael Jordan and the Bulls dynasty…it would be that you be grateful and feel so blessed to have had that in your life. There will never be another MJ and it is hard to imagine another Bulls dynasty of that caliber happening again in my lifetime.
Whenever I get asked by someone who just meets me if I was around during the Bulls dynasty, my answer of, “I was alive for three of them but do not remember any of it,” always pains me to say. But hey at least they are not like the Bears who have not won anything during my 26 years of being alive.
Hopefully Arturas Karnisovas can one day lead us to the promise land so I can get a taste of what NBA championship glory feels like. I can only imagine how it felt for so many people in Chicago during the 90s.
Alex Patt Sports Chat 