#95: Chi-Town Rumble
Tons of Michael Jordan stuff and your new strategy for social media success
CULTURE THING:
The Last Dance is over. The 10-part documentary set ratings records for ESPN, averaging 5.8 million viewers across premieres of its first six episodes. To wrap up coverage in Office Hours, a few must-reads if you’re still in the mood for all things ‘90s Bulls.
“There is a photograph of that moment, Jordan’s last shot, in the magazine ESPN, taken by the photographer Fernando Medina. It is in color and covers two full pages, and it shows Russell struggling to regain position, Jordan at the peak of his jump, the ball high up on its arc and about to descend, and the clock displaying the time remaining in the game—6.6 seconds. What is remarkable is the closeup it offers of so many Utah fans. Though the ball has not yet reached the basket, the game appears over to them. The anguish—the certitude of defeat—is on their faces. In a number of instances their hands are extended as if to stop Jordan and keep the shot from going in. Some of the fans have already put their hands to their faces, as in a moment of grief. There is one exception to this: a young boy on the right, in a Chicago Bulls shirt, whose arms are already in the air in a victory call.
The ball dropped cleanly through. Utah had one more chance, but Stockton missed the last shot and the Bulls won, 87–86. Jordan had carried his team once again. He had scored forty-five points, and he had scored his team’s last eight points. The Chicago coaches, it turned out, had been prophetic in their sense of what would happen in the fourth quarters of this series, and which player would be able to create for himself with the game on the line. In the three close games, two of them in Salt Lake City, Jordan played much bigger than Malone—averaging thirteen points in the fourth quarter to Malone’s three. Jordan should be remembered, Jerry Sloan said afterward, “as the greatest player who ever played the game.”
Jordan’s Moment (The New Yorker)
Sticking with The New Yorker — sidebar, I subscribed a few years back and got a tote bag. When the subscription ended, I re-upped…and they sent me the exact same tote bag. Did they not do an update? I just thought that was weird! — when I saw that they released a Bomani Jones Q&A about Michael Jordan and The Last Dance? I couldn’t click fast enough!
“How do you think fans’ relationship with LeBron is different from their relationship with Jordan?
I think that LeBron’s story is actually more interesting. So much of what makes the Jordan story interesting is very particular to the manic construction of Michael Jordan. The difference between Michael and LeBron is Jordan’s a lot cooler than him, and that’s no shade to LeBron. When you see clips—and they did not have this in the documentary, surprisingly—you see the clip of Jordan walking into the All-Star Game in the Air Jordan jumpsuit with the gold chain. And everybody else is showing up in their own stuff or in team stuff and he’s there in Jordan stuff. And he just looks like the coolest, most defiant dude in the world. LeBron doesn’t quite have that.”
Bomani Jones on Michael Jordan, “The Last Dance,” and Activism in the N.B.A.
Finally, the 1992 Playboy interview with Jordan. Great if you were fascinated by the Jordan - Isiah Thomas rivalry in The Last Dance or just want to read more about how MJ’s mind works. This stood out to me:
“Playboy: Other players were jealous of your success in endorsements and business dealings?
Jordan: Right. But why must I squander my opportunities because those guys never got that opportunity? They don’t want me to have it and they’re going to be pissed at me if I do it? Screw that. And some people may view that as wrong. I see people writing letters to the editor: “I’m tired of seeing Michael Jordan’s face everywhere.” Who are you? Because if you were where I am, you’d be doing the same thing. I’m not going to let that bother me. This is a business. I want to take advantage of my opportunities and walk away from the game financially set. I’m not doing anything that anybody else in my position wouldn’t do.”
Playboy Interview: Michael Jordan
MARKETING THING:
Amber Horsburgh is a godsend for any musicians looking to create solid marketing plans. In my opinion, this blog post she wrote for Soundcloud about the work musicians need to put in as part of a solid social media strategy is applicable to all creative disciplines.
Content Soundcheck Part I: Essential groundwork for social media strategy
MUSIC THING:
🤙🏿 has been updated.
Format: This playlist is my attempt to define the “Post-yacht” genre. It’s a lot of music that has the same aesthethic you’ve come to know with yacht rock, but with modern influences. For example, Thundercat’s “Them Changes” is post-yacht.
Recommended for:
Online shopping
Doing dishes/laundry
Cooking
Boring work tasks
Listening on a gray day
BULLETIN BOARD:
Bonus Content!
In anticipation of Office Hours #100, I’m lifting the paywall on some of my most-read newsletters
#9: Meet the woman who will tell you what you're going to wear next year.
#31: How $60 Changed My Life Forever
#34: 5 Books That Will Change How You See The World
Announcing: Brands to Watch
A reminder that starting with Office Hours #100, this newsletter will shift to a tiered system.
Free subscribers will still get access to the podcast and the daily link newsletter.
Paid subscribers will receive the podcast, the daily link newsletter and will now receive exclusive articles like the Brands to Watch report, a monthly deepish-dive on a challenger brand that I think does really cool/innovative stuff.
As a freebie, here’s the Spring/Summer 2019 Brands to Watch report. As always, thanks for reading and subscribing!
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Until tomorrow…
WASH YOUR HANDS! STAY IN THE HOUSE! CHECK ON YOUR LOVED ONES!
Office Hours is written by Ernest Wilkins. Follow me on Twitter/IG @ErnestWilkins or send me an e-mail.