We're fools for Michael Jordan

Edward Young once wrote, "At 30, man suspects himself a fool; knows it at 40, and reforms his plan."\nThis couplet, written approximately 250 years ago, is currently relevant since Michael Jordan turns 40 next Monday, just eight days after scoring 20 points in presumably his final NBA All-Star Game appearance.\nGiven how he has played at 39, let it be known that Jordan was a fool for retiring initially when he was 30. Let it also be known that we are still fools for him.\nJordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, and that has sway over people. What surprises me is how we have to continue to spoil Michael. Even a deity would be jealous of him.\nI always wonder if the boot licking could get any worse. Then it usually does.\nThe latest example was at the All-Star Game. Vince Carter, who was the fans' selection to start, yielded his spot to Jordan, who was not selected by the fans but was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches who do the picking. Easter Conference coach Isiah Thomas had pressured Carter to cede his spot in the starting lineup to Jordan since Carter hasn't even played one-third of the Toronto Raptors games this year due to a knee injury.\nThis was so wrong.\nIf anybody shouldn't have had to bequeath their spot in the lineup, it was Carter. After all, if the fans want to see Carter play despite the fact he has only played in 15 games, then that should tell you how popular he is and how much the fans love him.\nWhat struck me as even stranger was that Jordan didn't pressure Carter to step aside but seemingly many others did. Some observers ruminated that the fans would have booed Carter otherwise.\nHow hypocritical is that? If they wanted Jordan that bad, why didn't they vote for him to start?\nBut it's just the freshest example of overwhelming deference to Jordan. What surprised me more than the fact that Jordan admitted to an extramarital affair with a nightclub singer at an Indianapolis hotel last fall was that Eddie F. Rush, an NBA referee, had introduced Jordan to the woman and given the woman Jordan's phone number after a 1989 Bulls-Pacers game in which Rush had officiated and Jordan had played.\nThe idea that a player and referee would fraternize socially beyond the usual "Hi, how are you?" greeting is rather concerning. The fact that the referee knew the player's phone number is rather angering. The fact that it was Michael Jordan's phone number is despicable. After all, how can we be sure that Jordan didn't socialize with other refs? How can we be sure that they didn't show deference to Jordan either on the court or off it? (And what, I wonder, did Eddie F. Rush get out of the deal?)\nNeed more examples of deference? Did you see Jordan's final United Center game against the Bulls Jan. 24? The game started with Jordan getting a three-minute standing ovation during pregame introductions.\nThis just revolted me. As a long-time Bulls fan who grew up watching Jordan play from 1984-1998, I certainly grew to appreciate him as the greatest player ever and the antidote for a city's continually disappointing pro sports teams. But I have also always believed you're either with us or against us, and Jordan wasn't with us anymore.\nThe game continued on with Jordan playing poorly and the Bulls winning. ESPN2 broadcasters John Saunders and Sean Elliott took turns kissing Jordan's butt. They took veiled shots -- at ESPN you don't want to seem as if you have open vendettas when you're promoting all the teams -- at Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf because he apparently should have just handed the team over to Jordan upon his second retirement in January 1999 and Bulls general manager Jerry Krause because of his never-really-proven inability to sign free agents since Jordan's departure.\nThese are just three relatively recent examples. We can go back years and find Jordan using perceived slights, fair or not, to motivate him. We must appease him. If he says that he would only play for Phil Jackson one minute and then plays for Doug Collins, perhaps the least similar coach in the NBA to Phil Jackson, then there has to be a good reason.\nWhen Jordan returns to the front office next season (presumably), will the NBA and its fans finally be able to move on? Will the fools in all of us reform our plan?\nJordan may be turning 40, but we're all getting older.