Growth Story
Michael Jordan was born into a well-off black family in Brooklyn, New York. His father, James, was a machinist who later served in the Air Force, and his mother, Delores, worked in a bank in New York.
Many people believe that Jordan must have been holding a basketball in his hand when he was born. But in fact, Jordan almost never came to this world. Jordan's mother suddenly lost her mother when she was 5 months pregnant. The doctor was worried that Jordan's mother would have a miscarriage, so she kept her in bed. The subsequent labor was very difficult. After Jordan struggled to emerge from his mother's womb, everyone was worried that he wouldn't survive for a few days because his nose kept bleeding. The family suspected that this was a precursor to some kind of serious illness. This problem suddenly disappeared when he was 5 years old.
In his childhood, he also experienced two quite dangerous things. Once, he nearly suffocated to death after falling off his parents' bed and onto the back of it. When he was two years old, he almost died from electrocution. One day, he picked up two wires near a car that his father was repairing, and the electric current knocked him more than two meters away. His father later said: "At that time, I really couldn't imagine how the little guy got the two wires mixed together."
When Jordan was very naughty when he was young, he liked to run around. When he was 12 years old, his father dug a drainage ditch in the open space behind the house, and the dirt he excavated formed a small mound on the ground. Jordan and his brother Larry, who was one year older than Jordan, decided to use the family's motorcycle (a fashionable gadget at the time) to play speed. The two brothers pushed the car 300 meters away from the mound, with Jordan driving and Larry sitting in the back. They wanted to drive at full speed over the mound, fly over the ditch, and even stay in the air for a moment. As a result, both guys ended up in a puddle.
Jordan’s father, James, is the son of a farmer and can drive a tractor at the age of 10. In the eyes of this hard-working father, Jordan is simply a slacker. James said: "Of all my children, he was the laziest. If he worked as a clock assembler in a factory, he would definitely starve to death. He would use the last dime in his pocket to make his brothers, sisters and even neighbors The kids at home do the work for him.”
However, Jordan is still very good in other aspects. He has a good memory, and he remembers the racial equality lessons his father taught him very well since he was a child. Perhaps because their neighbor was a white teacher and the two families got along well, Jordan grew up in an environment without color prejudice. "That's the most important lesson I learned from my parents," Jordan said. "I never paid attention to the color of someone's skin. I just cared about you as a person. I knew the other person was black or white, but they were still human beings." Growing up, he had close white friends.
Jordan said that he used to be quite handsome. He was cheerful, but he didn't like to talk much. He had a pair of provocative ears, and he had grown tall during adolescence. Therefore, when he was sixteen or seventeen years old, Jordan did not attract the attention of girls. He felt that he was probably doomed to live alone for the rest of his life. He was afraid that no one would marry him in the future, so he took home economics in school, learned cooking, sewing and cleaning. However, this worry is unnecessary. Jordan married his beautiful wife Junita when he was 26 years old.
After attending the University of North Carolina, Jordan had a girlfriend, but unfortunately, his girlfriend was swept away by a flood and drowned. This incident had a great impact on Jordan, who was originally cheerful and depressed for a period of time. Since then, he has been passionate about basketball.
In the summer of 1993, Jordan's father was murdered, which was a heavy blow to Jordan because his father was Jordan's best friend. That year, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to win the team's first three consecutive championships in the NBA. Jordan's father was there to watch his son's final game of winning the championship.
On October 6 of that year, Jordan, who was in grief, announced his retirement from basketball when he was at his peak. In order to forget the pain of his father's murder, Jordan turned to baseball practice. During those 18 months away from basketball, Jordan learned how to organize his life outside the court.
Jordan believes that if he had not encountered so many accidents, his current situation might be different.
Jordan’s first love
10-year-old Jordan is in fifth grade. Every morning, he gets up by himself without being called by his parents, and then hurries to catch the bus to school. As soon as he gets on the bus, he always uses his schoolbag to occupy a seat, and does not let anyone sit down. His clever eyes are spinning around, searching.
It turns out that Jordan fell in love with the 11-year-old girl Angela West. He occupied a seat for her every day, eager to sit with her and say a word or two. However, as soon as Angela got on the bus, she would rather squeeze into the same seat with the other two girls than sit in Jordan's seat. Next to him, poor little Jordan stared out the window. He understood why Angela ignored him because she liked to play with athletes. "Okay then, I must be an athlete" Xiao Jordan made up his mind.
........
Later, Jordan finally became a world-famous NBA star, but it was a pity that Angela had already married someone else. She will definitely regret the boy who saved his seat for her. This is not only because that little boy has become the Prince Charming in the dreams of countless girls around the world, but this "prince" is also a very affectionate and considerate good husband. "In the bottom of my heart, the school bus still occupies a place. I occupied a seat for a girl, but she never refused to sit next to me." The past events of his youth will always remain in Jordan's memory. ”
After every game, Jordan immediately drives home. Although his wife has watched the TV broadcast, he always takes the trouble to tell her about the situation on the field, and then gives her a long and deep kiss. When he comes down, he has to play a "game" with his son. His eldest son Jeffery is almost 9 years old. Since he was 2 or 3 years old, his son has asked his father to "play a game" and never stopped. , Jeffery shot over his head, and Jordan tried to block it. Sometimes Jordan was so tired that he would lie on the floor and take a nap while playing. He kept screaming until Jordan woke up. He would also come over from time to time to "check" to see if the little guy was playing well, because he often watched Jordan's games on TV. Often said to Jordan: "Dad, look, this is how you shoot free throws. "Then he spins the ball a few times, takes a deep breath, pats the ball again, sticks out his tongue and sucks his lower lip, and then throws the ball into the special small basketball hoop. As soon as he makes a shot, he will proudly hold up his chest and head and say: “Look, this is how you should vote. ”
Jordan’s home is warm, harmonious and happy. Jordan is a good husband and father.
Success story
Jordan is the fourth child in the family Children.
Maybe because James was a basketball player, several of his children have the talent to play basketball. Under the guidance of his father James, Jordan is 1.98 meters tall. But there has never been another person in his family who is taller than 1.85 meters. Unless you go back two or three generations, Jordan's brother Larry has the same confidence and ability as him in basketball, but he is only 1.72 meters tall. When playing one-on-one with Jordan, his luck was never as good as Jordan's. In 1982, Jordan represented the University of North Carolina team in the National College League for the first time and won the men's basketball championship. On March 29 of that year, the 19-year-old Jordan sealed the victory with a long shot in the last 15 seconds, giving North Carolina a 63-62 win over Georgetown University. This game made him famous in history many years later. Now: June 14, 1998, in the final game of the Finals between the Bulls and the Utah Jazz, Jordan deceived the Jazz's Russell with a fake move at the critical moment with 5.2 seconds left in the game and scored to seal the victory. With a goal, the Bulls narrowly defeated the Jazz 86:85, and the Bulls won the NBA championship for the sixth time.
In 1984, the 21-year-old Jordan was selected for the United States Men's National Basketball Team and was selected in the NBA draft. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the third pick in the first round. This was Jordan's first year in the limelight. At the 23rd Los Angeles Olympic Basketball Game, Jordan cooperated with his teammates and sent the United States to the top. Championship podium.
After the Olympics, Jordan officially joined the American professional basketball team Chicago Bulls as a backup guard. From then on, the "Jordan Era" of the American NBA Professional Basketball League began.
1984 was not only a fruitful year for Jordan's career, but also the year when he became associated with "Nike". "Nike" takes a fancy to Jordan not only because of his outstanding basketball skills, but also because of his excellent physical condition. Jordan is not a stout athlete. He only has 4% fat in his body, while the average person has more than 15%, which makes his jumping ability and air-staying ability excellent. He can jump over two meters high, jump 7.63 meters long, jump vertically over 1.22 meters on the spot, and stay in the air for more than two seconds. He can also complete a variety of changes in movements while flying in the air, which is hard to detect.
It was with these qualities that the young Jordan attracted the "Nike" company. But Jordan didn't pretend to be "Nike" at all in the beginning. He has been an "Adidas" fan since high school. So when Nike asked to meet with him, he almost turned it down.
In the end, Jordan decided to keep the appointment. Almost all the top people at Nike met with him, but this did not arouse Jordan's favor. Later, a "Nike" official named Rob Strasser caught his attention. He said he wanted to create his own style for Jordan and said he wanted to redefine the sports shoe industry. "Nike" proposed to sign a five-year contract with Jordan, worth $250,000 per year, which counts as royalties and bonuses for the company to produce products with his advertising image on the "Nike" basketball product production line.
The amount of this contract was very considerable at the time, but Jordan still had a soft spot for "Adidas" and went to "Adidas" to tell him the conditions provided to him by "Nike" Give it to the other party and ask if you can provide similar conditions.
"Adidas" did not respond. Jordan had no choice but to devote himself to "Nike". Jordan began the 1984-1985 season wearing red and black Nike basketball shoes. Because the color of his shoes was inconsistent with the Bulls' uniforms, the NBA banned Jordan from wearing "Nike" shoes. But Jordan continued to wear them, so he was fined by the NBA commissioner after each game, first $1,000, then $3,000, and then $5,000. Nike is taking it calmly and is happy because the NBA's ban has an unusual effect. To achieve such an advertising effect, it may cost them millions of dollars.
Nike's first advertising short started with Jordan's head, then slowly moved the camera to his torso and finally to his feet. When the camera stopped on the new "Nike" shoes, what was shown on the screen was a big cross drawn on the sneakers, and the voice-over came: "Forbidden!"
From then on, the sales of "Nike" shoes surge.