MJ's disappointing HOF speech..

[both-teams-played-hard]

Yes, it is. I had the same one in my room as a kid. He was my favorite player growing up.

Tanner wasn't my favorite player. I was partial to Kelly Leak.


Back to the topic...
Can anyone comment on Peter Vescey's speech from the HOF dinner?

[33bird]

What most people don't realize is that Kelly Leak was actually Steve Nash.

[emann]

I think it's hard NOT to deliver that sort of speech when you're Michael Jordan.

I actually went to the city's rally earlier in the day. The crowd exploded when Jordan came on-stage (to the point the girl behind me was loudly sobbing at the sight of him and saying "oh my God" over & over). It was a deafening standing ovation... They chanted his name over the other's names at the end of the short speeches (when they were trying to acknowled all the inductees) and he was just chuckling... He's sports version of Elvis, the Beatles and Michael Jackson all wrapped up into one. It'll be years before another athlete reaches that level of super stardom.

As a side note, even though the crowd was all there to see Jordan; his speech was all of about 30 seconds and not much past a "thanks". Robinson on the other hand gave a short but heartfelt speech thanking the fans and how honored he was to be there, etc. Robinson is a real class act though, probably not many in sports like him, nor should it be expected.

[both-teams-played-hard]

What most people don't realize is that Kelly Leak was actually Steve Nash.

[sportscentury]

They saved the worst for last-not the best. Did you guys see it? Stocks, Sloans, and Robos were great. They gave everybody credit for helping them get to the HOF. It was more about others than themselves. Then MJ comes up and disses about everyone from his high school teammate for making the team when he didn't, to Dean Smith not putting him on the SI cover, to Doug Collins not wanting him to play during the off season, to Krause taking credit for the Bulls championships, to Reinsdorf trying to protect his investment during his 2nd season, to Bryon Russell for talking trash to him, to Pat Riley for telling his players not to eat with him on game days, etc. etc. Was real disappointed. Hardly mentioned his family, other than it's gotta be tuff to be my kids. Mentioned no teammates other than Pippen once and tons of his teammates were there: I saw Kukoc, Kerr, and even Rodman. He even said shit in his speech. Man, everybody knows you're the greatest Mike. It's time to back off the me, me, me, and give others some credit. There's a nice article about this on yahoo sports. Dude rips apart his speech. Saying MJ was the only player that could ever get away with all the things he said. He's a cruddy husband, cruddy father, and a cruddy GM. I think he's lost without the contest competition and fanfare. Real disappointed. What did you guys think?

Great post. I thought I was the only one shaking my head at him. Actually, it was amazing to see that after everything he has accomplished, he is still so bitter about the little stuff. Sad.

[33bird]

Yea, I mean, I think MJ was the greatest player ever. Most fans do. He's got nothing left to prove. If you couldn't see the difference between his speech and all the others you got the MJ blinders on. It should have been more about his family, coaches, teammates, trainers, and those that helped get him there. Not about all those petty things that nobody cares about anymore except him. No biggie, except I lost a little respect for him.

[NYCrulesU]

They saved the worst for last-not the best. Did you guys see it? Stocks, Sloans, and Robos were great. They gave everybody credit for helping them get to the HOF. It was more about others than themselves. Then MJ comes up and disses about everyone from his high school teammate for making the team when he didn't, to Dean Smith not putting him on the SI cover, to Doug Collins not wanting him to play during the off season, to Krause taking credit for the Bulls championships, to Reinsdorf trying to protect his investment during his 2nd season, to Bryon Russell for talking trash to him, to Pat Riley for telling his players not to eat with him on game days, etc. etc. Was real disappointed. Hardly mentioned his family, other than it's gotta be tuff to be my kids. Mentioned no teammates other than Pippen once and tons of his teammates were there: I saw Kukoc, Kerr, and even Rodman. He even said shit in his speech. Man, everybody knows you're the greatest Mike. It's time to back off the me, me, me, and give others some credit. There's a nice article about this on yahoo sports. Dude rips apart his speech. Saying MJ was the only player that could ever get away with all the things he said. He's a cruddy husband, cruddy father, and a cruddy GM. I think he's lost without the contest competition and fanfare. Real disappointed. What did you guys think?

Thank you for bringing this up. I couldn't agree with you more. I settled in to watch, what I thought, was going to be the greatest NBA HOF induction ceremony that I would probably ever see in my lifetime. What I got was an ending that actually had me in shock. MJ was arrogant, pompous and exceedingly selfish in everything he said. It was unbelievable. So much so that I actually turned it off at one point about midway through his speech. I honestly couldn't stand to sit there and watch him ridicule anyone from team executives to players to some kid back when he was in high school. In clearly showed what is truly in his heart.

His entire attitude was, as I now think of Jordan himself, sad and pathetic.

[corsairs22]

I lost a lot of respect for him. I'm glad I am not like Mike. But I will drink Gatorade.

[sportscentury]

I lost a lot of respect for him. I'm glad I am not like Mike. But I will drink Gatorade.

Yes, Gatorade is refreshing.

[kingjammy24]

seems i'm one of the few who liked it. during his prime, jordan was often derided for wasting his immense global influence on little more than selling big macs and nikes. "you better eat your wheaties" was his most profound soundbite. most felt that he intentionally kept his thoughts to himself to avoid possibly making waves that might affect his lucrative sponsorships. during his glory years, basketball's greatest player came across as little more than a carefully-controlled marketing image crafted by mcdonalds, nike, etc. a man who kept his mouth shut at all times, except to utter marketing slogans.

his HOF speech was a 180 from the reserved jordan known by the public during his playing days. he finally came out and spoke from the heart and i suppose that's the reason i enjoyed it. negative or not, it certainly wasn't the usual canned bullshit filled with insipid cliches that characterize most speeches. i have more respect for a man who speaks his mind, even if it isn't all lollipops and butterflies, than a man so concerned about possibly offending others that he filters everything he says until it's little more than watered-down, politically correct cack. these sorts of speeches would be a lot more interesting if more people had the guts to speak their mind instead of rattling off another boilerplate speech that could be delivered by anyone. "i'd like to thank my family and the team and the good Lord above for making my dreams come true. it just goes to show that hard work pays off and blah blah blah blah". i guess i see more point in watching a charles barkley interview than a cal ripken interview because at least with barkley i don't know how the whole thing is going to go before it even starts.

most of the negative things he said about others was in the context of explaining what motivated him.

rudy.