Michael Jordan - For The Love Of The Game
March Madness - North Carolina 1982 Championship
"NEVER LET ME DOWN"
The championship banner rose to the rooftop of the Tarheel Arena.
High above the light blue of the Carolina courts reservoir-sealed marina.
Daddy was darthly ill with emphysema - his cigar filled, Bolivar Cofradia
Memorabilia, on the wall the reel of cart wheeling streakers & cars teal with fever.
March feels like amnesia...
"Jordan dribbles to the arch for a 3" and careens into the bleacher. He just shrugs at Dean.
Coach calls for a time out with a disrupting T
He scolds the rookie in front of the other 13 teammates, an ugly scene of cussing' obscene. ..
"Adjust to the screen!!!!! Pump Fake!!! Find the open man cutting!!! Or I'm subbing in Pete"
The 30 seconds were up - The referee blew the whistle, ear drum puncturing
"Tweeeeeeeeeeee"
..
"Follow your shot." He shouted thunderously over 21,750 fans up on their feet.
Georgetown had been undefeated, crushing the league. Patrick Ewing was a dunking machine
They were bigger. They were stronger. They were faster. Those mothetfuckers were mean!
..
But we were gunning for the ring, sinking buckets and dropping jumpers and hustling on D.
They had gotten into foul trouble, as 23 fought off the double team and got off the shot that had the buzzer beat.
..
They had missed lay ups. The momentum had swung - as my dad coughed up his lungs suffering to breathe.
..
Everyone touch;swinged the ball around like pinball on the color TV.
Dad sucked in a wheeze, his adrenaline rushing: comforting -
Jordan dropped another dagger with the clutchest release of any young player he must've seen since the Bucks and Kareem.
Georgetown called timeout. Heading off the court heads hung in defeat.
The shot clock stopped at 3:23.
The score board read a 100 to 3...
The referees went over to the scoring table and corrected the malfunction, they were only up 3.
Coach Dean drew up a motion offense with his sharpie marker, instructions:
Then comes up with a speech:
"Some want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
Which ones are we!?"
He screams as sweat pours off his player's bodies puffing with steam.
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying"
He says to his group of guys runned with fatigue.
The NBA scouts were watching 23 from the sidelines and up in the luxury seats
The NBA draft was these kids big chance to make reality of what once was a dream.
"Your money is guaranteed. Your minutes are not - So play these last couple of minutes with a bunch of belief..."
"Tarheels on 3
ONE! TWO! THREE! TARHEELS "NC" up in the sleeve.
..
The pom-poms pumping; the marching bands trumpets erupting - the drummers drumming -
Number 23 beats the defender to the weak side, taking it to the hole and stuffing it!
..
Defense wins championships. We crashed the boards, converse sneakers shuffle & squeaked.
"They call him Windex man because he's always cleaning the glass going up for the Re"
Fundamentals can be teached, but what he could under pressure, in the crunch was something to see.
Jordan chest passed to the center - just then my father reached for his pump in relief.
"With authority! Yes, and it counts! He'll go to the line for one"
We cut the lead.
My father put the cigar butt in his cheek. Huffing, beet-red, underneath a ton of the heap.
Crossing over, drop step, floater - Coach had saw enough
Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
..
Coach Dean called for his final timeout and ran a play for the brightest young star in the country - Number 23
We missed the free throw just so Michael could out hustle and retrieve the ball and hit the game winning bucket, nothing but net - extended tongue as he leaped.
The # 1 seed
..
Gatorade dumped on the dean.
Posing after the game winning shot - one hand up like a G
Swish
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VETWORK
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