WASHINGTON--It was easy enough to sit there, in a black-and-redsweat suit that curiously resembled a Bulls ensemble, and say hedoesn't fear failure. It was simple enough on the first day of therest of his basketball life for Michael Jordan to shout down thegame's "young dogs," mention Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady by nameand issue a hellbent warning that he'll be "barking" at them in a fewweeks.
He knows the new story line. Bravado and trash-talking are thesubplots, defiant echoes in the face of the most imposing legacy insports history.
"I'm not afraid to take a step. If I fall, I fall and move on,"Jordan declared Monday, peering out at the TV lights and media mobsthat have returned after a three-year breather. "If we can all learnsomething in life, it's never to be afraid of taking on a challenge.I tell my kids, 'If you have a vision, go out and try to get it.' I'mnot looking at my legacy. No one can take away my six championships,and you can't take away all the things that I'm about.
"I'm not backing down from anything."
But how will he feel in April? That is what we veteranJordanologists want to know. Testy as he was in his first publicviewing with the Washington Wizards, where will his mind-set be whenthe playoffs are starting, the young dogs are moving on to the firstround and Jordan is starting his summer vacation earlier than everbecause his team was too young and unskilled to keep up? The biggestfib he told during our regular Hoops The Gym interview sessions wasthat he still can be a champion as a teacher of young players, thattitles alone don't define the legend. That bit of bunk was shot downby Doug Collins, his former and current coach, who knows Jordan toowell to expect any reduction in his competitive obsession.
"People think Michael is coming back to be Socrates or somethingand that losing will be OK with him," Collins said on the practicecourt of the MCI Center, Jordan's new home court. "Sure, he wants toteach, but Michael still wants to kick your [butt] while he'steaching. He'll always be the ultimate competitor. Believe me, hisfire to win burns hotter than ever."
Predictably, as we've seen so often before, Jordan is using hispublic critics--some real, some imagined--as motivation in hisTendinitis Over America Tour. He's an avid reader of newspapers andInternet sites and is keeping score of who's with him and who's not,to the point his perspective is slightly askew. Twice, I've heard himcurse out Chicago writers who aren't worth the time of day, and thesame pique surfaced occasionally during his 40-minute newsconference. Some of it was directed at pal Charles Barkley, who hasirked Jordan in leading the anti-comeback wave. "Charles can give hisopinion, but at the end of the day, it has no effect on me," he said.Other naysayers have ranged from Hall of Famers (Red Auerbach, KareemAbdul-Jabbar) to attention hogs (Mark Cuban) to has-beens (former NBAplayer Mychal Thompson) to modern-day nobodies (Knicks reserveShandon Anderson).
"The last time I looked, if I read every newspaper about thenegative things I was trying to do, I'd swear I wasn't living inAmerica," Jordan said. "America is supposed to be about the free willto do whatever you choose. That's all I'm doing. I don't think I amcommitting a crime. I'm just trying to play the game of basketball."
That much, I believe. As people search for answers to the ongoingquestion--why, Mike?--do know that Jordan loves and misses basketballas much as he claims. The power of his passion is exhibited in awillingness to lose more with the Wizards than, basically, he has atany point in his life. If you want an over-under measuring stick, trythis: What are the chances Jordan will suffer more losses this seasonthan he did in his final three regular seasons with the Bulls, atotal of 43? The stakes have dropped dramatically, as even headmitted, at one point describing himself with a term once thoughtimpossible: underdog. "I don't come into this expecting to win 50games," Jordan said.
So why risk the frustration and indignity of losing, especiallywhen the eternal image is frozen of Jordan holding a cigar in onehand and a trophy in the other? Because Jordan, as always, needs thefix. I say with all due respect that he reminds me of an addictlooking for a score. A Chicago TV guy, suspicious of Jordan'smotives, asked if his family approves of the comeback after previousstatements that he was retiring to car-pool his kids and mow thelawn. Jordan smiled.
"When I retired the last time, I didn't say I was ready to quitthe game," he said. "It's an itch that still needs to be scratchedhere, and I want to make sure that itch doesn't bother me for therest of my life. What I'm trying to do is get that last scratch in.My family understands."
Whether his followers understand the itches and scratches in sixmonths is another matter. But anyone with a pulse knows thecomplexion of sports changed Sept. 11. Suddenly, the comeback ofMichael Jordan takes on a more soothing tone. Before the newsconference, I drove my rental car across the water and took thePentagon exit. The side of the building remains charred and mangled,with no apparent signs of imminent reconstruction. On a nearby road,two memorials have been created, with several people convening Mondaymorning to donate flowers and stare blankly at the nationalnightmare. Jordan, whose father was murdered eight years ago, knowswhat numbness is.
"We're entertainers," he said. "Our biggest job is to try to keeppeople's minds away from a certain routine. I don't think my job ismore important than what the firefighters and police are doing. Idon't think I'm so backward to believe that."
What he provides is an intriguing winter debate. Was this a goodidea? Will Bryant, McGrady and Vince Carter embarrass him? Will theWizards be the least bit respectable? You realize the magnitude ofthe challenge when you see the name of Thomas Hamilton, who hasdropped 80 pounds since Jordan and trainer Tim Grover took aninterest last spring, on the Wizards' preseason roster. "Mike isalways on me, always hollering at me not to give up, to keep at ithard," said Hamilton, the former King star who is down to 345 on theJordan Abuse Diet. "I don't want to let the man down. He's trying tohelp me."
The Washington challenge, it seems, is far beyond even Mike'scorrective powers. Collins says the story will be "an amazingsuccess" if the Wizards make the playoffs but acknowledges it willrequire rapid improvement by the team's young players, notably guardsRichard Hamilton and Courtney Alexander and 19-year-old power forwardKwame Brown. "I feel I'm obligated to pass on things that I know. Ifthey listen, they listen," Jordan said. "That's why I hired Doug.He's going to worry about coaching them, not me. I'm going to playbasketball.
"I'm not walking into this darkly. I know everybody is putting myhead out there on the chopping block and seeing if I can compete.Everyone is motivated to come and play against me, but everyone wasmotivated to play me when I left. So nothing has changed since I'vebeen gone. I know what I'm capable of doing. When I step on thebasketball court, I'm confident I'll play this game at the highestlevel."
With that, he was off to camp in the romantic dateline ofWilmington, N.C. It is his hometown, of course, meaning Jordan's lifehas come full circle at 38. If he fails, at least he can say hescratched the itch.
Jay Mariotti's radio program airs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday on Sporting News Radio (820-AM).
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