As a kid of the nineties, for me, there were four non-negotiables… Nintendo. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Happy Pants. Michael Jordan. Every other kid had a haul of Chicago Bulls paraphernalia, hats, jerseys with the famed 23 emblazoned upon it, and then, of course, there was the all-consuming craze of the basketball cards – the only other craze to even come close were maybe marbles or yo-yos – but no yo-yo got it’s own protective plastic slipcase inside, yes, you guessed it… a second, more solid plastic slipcase. A special place indeed for my 93-94 Upper deck Finals MVP Card of the man himself, MJ.
Now, I must confess, after the Chicago Bulls dream team disbanded, I – like a lot of other kids I knew – lost interest in basketball and for me personally, it is an interest that never really ‘tipped’ off again… that was until a couple of months back, a trailer washed over my Netflix browsing for an eight-part docu-series on Michael Jordan and his mighty Bulls, called ‘The Last Dance’, with two episodes dropping weekly.
All of a sudden, I found myself thrown back in the mindset of a Michael Jordan obsessed kid – counting down the moments for the next episodes to come out.
The series takes you behind the scenes of the Bulls golden age, with an in-depth behind the scenes look at the players, coaches and administrators that took the Chicago Bulls from the rabble they were, to six NBA Championships, a double three-peat, and a host of players that would become household names worldwide. The nostalgia is palpable.
Listening to first-hand accounts of what it took to scale the mountain, maintain success and what drove these guys, is utterly enthralling. The highs, the lows, the controversies – so much that as a kid, really wasn’t on my radar. Throw in countless Michael Jordan highlights that prove there is no way he is actually from Earth (hello Space Jam) for good measure, and you’ve got yourself one of the best shows to hit Netflix in recent memory.
With the final two episodes dropping last night, I, like I would imagine a lot of the world, am now working out a way to deal with the Michael Jordan withdrawal, that I am sure is coming.
So, there’s only one thing for it… I’m off to REBEL Sport to buy a rock.
The Last Dance is streaming on Netflix now. Check out the trailer below.
Written by Matt Wilkinson
