Michael Jordan: Beyond Personal Glory Essay -- Basketball Players Pape

Michael Jordan: Beyond Personal Glory Michael Jordan is the only athlete to have ever gained the middle name "Air" because of his unbelievable ability to soar through the sky before he smashes the ball through the rim. He has managed to defy all obstacles ever thrown his way within the sport of basketball, earning his reputation as the most competitive and determined player in the NBA. Over the span of Michael Jordan's 18 year long career in the NBA, he has enjoyed world wide attention and recognition as the ambassador of basketball. Jordan has influenced basketball players around the globe and, with his own shoes and clothing brand, along with his artistic way of handling himself on the court, has developed a style of his own within the sport. Michael Jordan can be considered the foremost leader of the enlightenment in the sport of basketball. I myself am the owner of two pairs of Jordan shoes, which I consider to be my favorite shoes, although I certainly realize that Jordan's merchandise is way too expensive and I along with the rest of the basketball fanatics am being suckered in to paying large sums of money for an image. Ever since I started my journey as a basketball player, Michael Jordan has been an idol and a role model for me to follow in my quest to reach my own goals as an athlete. I have devoured all the information about this man I could possibly attain and have been inspired by his life as a basketball player as well as a role model off the court. Many people characterize Michael Jordan as a typical athlete, who was successful within his sport, but because of his personal flaws and his self-destructive competitiveness never managed to exceed the level of other very competent and well known athle... ...el, Michael Jordan is a brand name." Nieman Reports, Vol. 53 Issue3, p41. Grimm, Mathiew. "Over Jordan." Brandweek, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p. 24. Hirsch, Phil. "Should his Airness be a Cultural Icon?" http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/Field/1307/newspaper.html. Lipsyte, Robert. Michael Jordan: A Life above the rim. New York, NY: Harper Collins,c1994. "Michael Jordan." American Decades CD-ROM. Gale Research, 1998. "Michael Jordan." Contemporary Black Biography, New York: Gale Group 1999. "Michael Jordan." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. New York: Gale Research,1998. "Jordan's Wife Juanita Files for Divorce." http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0107/1307442.html. "Michael Jordan Foundation." http://www.delorisjordan.com/page/MJpage.html.Dec.1. "Michael Jordan." Notable Black American Men. New York: Gale Research, 1998.