Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame Speech

Michael Jordan is often considered the best basketball player in history. Not because of his skills which were extraordinary but not the best ever, but because of his innate ability to make every player around him so much better. He was extremely marketable and there was a point in the 1990s when everyone wanted to "Be Like Mike." As a basketball player and fan I always found it a treat to watch him play and watch every aspect of his personality. When he was introduced into the Basketball Hall of Fame a few months ago, he made a speech that was classic Michael, and took a lot of heat for it, heat that came because people simply forgot who he was.

Jordan was the ultimate competitor. He trash talked every single player on the court and would threaten players after and before games if they came at him too hard during the games. He was the ultimate player he knew how to control a game and how to get inside people's heads. One of the things that people recognize with Jordan is his squeaky clean image portrayed in the media. Sound familiar Tiger? Jordan was not the nicest and most approachable guys in the world especially if he felt under attack.

During his speech he basically poked fun of people like Byron Russell for being their to make him who he was, and not exactly in the best way possible. He took a lot of heat from his critics about how he could have used this podium to be humble, to be thankful, to be grateful. I think these people have just forgotten who Michael was. He has been out of the public eye basically for five years, and bloggers and other people simply forgot his personality. He was not a humble guy. He was not the most approachable. He knew he was the best and did not shy away from it. He is who he is, not who he was portrayed to be by Nike and his other sponsors. He is the best of all time and had that right to make a speech however he saw fit and I, and more importantly he, would not have had it any other way.