Every retired athlete, whether you played in high school, college or got to the pros, knows how hard it is to hang up your jersey when the game is done with you. You can look at old pictures, you can watch old game film, but you\u2019ll never feel it \u2014 never be in it \u2014 again.<\/p>\n
The same is true for the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n
Michael Jordan in an interview that aired last week said he wishes he could take \u201ca magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today.\u201d He misses it. At 62, he wryly acknowledged that doing so might mean a popped Achilles and a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s where the ache comes from. Retiring doesn\u2019t just mean putting your sneakers and duffle bag in the closet \u2014 it often means you\u2019re done. Sure, we all remember Jordan\u2019s loose definition of \u201cretirement\u201d during his younger years \u2014 stepping off the court and into minor league baseball with the White Sox organization, returning to the Bulls for another three-peat, retiring again after his sixth title, and eventually finishing his career with a two-season stint on the Washington Wizards. While that final return meant folks got to see a little more MJ, there were others who wished he\u2019d hung it up as a Bull.<\/p>\n
But anyone who ever watched him on the court could understand why he did it.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t stay away \u2014 because no one loved the game more.<\/p>\n
He made it look easy, too. Like every great athlete, from Usain Bolt to Jackie Joyner-Kersee to Caitlin Clark, Jordan\u2019s ease on the court came from relentless effort.<\/p>\n
Headlines, puzzles and death notices from the Valley delivered to your inbox 7 a.m. daily.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re still watching his highlight reels. \u201cThe Last Dance\u201d got many of us through the dark days of the pandemic lockdowns. Entire accounts on X are dedicated to Jordan clips.<\/p>\n
Nobody does it like MJ did, though countless have been dubbed \u201cthe next Michael Jordan\u201d or claimed to play the game better. We Chicagoans know the truth.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s back to talk hoops on NBC in \u201cMJ: Insights to Excellence,\u201d a series that will air throughout the NBA season. \u201cI have an obligation to the game of basketball \u2026 as a basketball player is to be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball,\u201d Jordan said in a sneak preview of the series.<\/p>\n
We admire his attitude, his gratitude and his willingness to impart some wisdom to the next generation. We think his emphasis on putting in the effort had a positive influence on basketball culture, reminding kids that greatness isn\u2019t given, it\u2019s earned. He didn\u2019t hide from stories about getting cut from a high school basketball team, he built it into his legend. Jordan had exceptional God-given gifts, but plenty of gifted athletes become forgotten names, underachievers. Jordan paired natural talent with exceptional work ethic and a competitive fire like few others before or since, showing what a lethal combination those attributes make.<\/p>\n
In sum: Michael Jordan misses basketball. We miss watching Michael Jordan play basketball. We\u2019re excited to tune in and see what he shares with the world about the game he loves so much.<\/p>\n
Jordan inspired a generation of kids to love the sport and brought an entire city together, giving us a common cause and a shared point of pride. There\u2019s never been anyone like him. We\u2019re glad that, once again \u2026 he\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
Yakima Herald-Republic opinion section glossary<\/p>\n
Editorials <\/p>\n
Editorials reflect the opinion of the newspaper\u2019s editorial board and are meant to offer perspective, raise questions or advocate for change. <\/p>\n
Though grounded in fact, editorials express opinions and are intended to spark thought and discussion. <\/p>\n
Opinion columns: <\/p>\n
Opinion columns represent the personal views of the writer, not the position of the newspaper. <\/p>\n
While news articles aim to present facts without bias, opinion columns offer fact-based individual perspectives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every retired athlete, whether you played in high school, college or got to the pros, knows how hard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,34831,1721,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-248695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-editorials","12":"tag-opinion","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}