If Michael Jordan had a bumper sticker on his car it would probably read "I'd Rather Be Golfing."
That's the prevailing attitude the Chicago Bulls guard seems to portray even though he may be the greatest basketball player ever to grace the planet and currently one of the most marketable persons in America.That attitude certainly came across last month when he offended many Utahns by saying the All-Star game should be played at a warm-weather site so he could play golf.
And just this week on the occasion of his 30th birthday, he commented, "The birthday I'm looking forward to is 40. At 40, I'll be happy playing golf."
Does that imply Michael's not happy being the best basketball player as well as one of the most famous persons in the world?
After some of the troubles he's been through the last year and a half, maybe he would be just as happy off golfing where no one could bother him.
Jordan arrives in Salt Lake tonight for his seventh consecutive All-Star game after - what else? - golfing all day in Las Vegas. He has started every All-Star game since he was a rookie (except the year he was injured) and will likely start in every one until the day he retires.
With Larry Bird and Magic Johnson now retired and not playing in the All-Star game for the first time in a decade, Jordan finds himself The Man in the National Basketball Association. He's on a level all by himself.
You could make a case for David Robinson, Charles Barkley or Karl Malone. But despite being tremendous talents, that trio doesn't have an NBA title or MVP trophy among them. Shaquille O'Neal may be the future king of the NBA, but he's just halfway through his rookie season.
His Airness has won three MVP awards, led his team to two straight NBA titles while being named MVP of the Finals twice, has won six straight scoring titles and been a first-team NBA selection six years running. Of course he has an All-Star game MVP award to his credit - in 1988 when he scored 40 points.
Off the court, you see Michael everywhere, whether he's hosting Saturday Night Live, playing ball with Bugs Bunny, eating a McDonald's sandwich named after him or making shots off tall buildings with his friend Bird. Any 6-year-old can tell you who Michael Jordan is, but would be hard-pressed if asked about Bill Clinton. Jordan may someday rival Muhammad Ali as the most famous athlete, if not, person in the world.
Jordan has handled his fame well at times and not so well at others. He's run into a few difficulties during the past couple of years that have combined to knock him off his pedestal.
Utah fans were turned off by his outburst at the end of a triple-overtime loss at the Delta Center in 1992 when he was tossed from the game for bumping an official, which resulted in a one-game suspension.
Going back to late 1991, a book called "Jordan Rules" characterized Jordan as tyrannical, selfish, overbearing and unpopular with his teammates, although his teammates later disputed the claims as a "bunch of nonsense."
Then last year he got in some hot water when a $57,000 check from him was found in the possession of a convicted gambler. At first Jordan called it a loan before admitting later that it was a gambling debt for poker, dice and golf. Jordan called the experience "the most embarrassing mistake of my life."
Just last week Jordan got involved in a fight with Indiana's Reggie Miller, which cost him $10,000, a one-game suspension as well as further tarnishing of his image.
What Jordan has found out is it's not easy being Michael Jordan.
"I'm pretty sure people are tired of hearing about Michael Jordan," he told AP earlier this season. "I know I am. It wears thin after awhile."
Everybody seems to want a piece of Jordan whether it's fans, agents or journalists.
"The guy gets so many requests that people get upset if they can't get him one-on-one," said Joyce Symanski, the Bulls assistant media services director.
Symanski said her office gets an average of 10 calls a day requesting interviews with Jordan. Journalists from Europe, where the NBA is suddenly becoming big-time, are asking for more and more interviews and they "can't understand why they can't sit down with him for a half hour," says Symanski.
Despite being constantly hounded, Jordan remains the media's delight. He regularly makes the All-Interview team selected by the NBA media and rarely seems unwilling or unhappy to grant an interview.
While O'Neal has already made himself off-limits to pre-game interviews (the NBA mandates that locker rooms be open up until 45 minutes prior to tipoff), Jordan will still grant interviews before games.
After games he'll sit and answer questions graciously, right down to the last student newspaper writer, who may be covering his only game of the year.
When the Bulls were in town a couple of weeks ago, Jordan patiently fielded a couple of dozen questions about how he had singlehandedly beat the Jazz with an incredible 20-point fourth quarter. Things were winding down when a reporter wanted one last question.
How's your golf game?
Jordan's face brightened up considerably.
"You know it's been on and off," he said, as he proceeded to talk about the places he gets to play during the season (Houston, Orlando, L.A.) and the itinerary for his trip to Las Vegas. He probably would have talked longer, but there was another bus to catch, another basketball game to get ready for.
Golf would just have to wait for another day.
*****
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NBA All-Star Rosters-Statistics
Eastern Conference - coached by Pat Riley of New York Knicks
Starters
Years
Player P Ht Wt A-S Pts Reb Ast Team
Larry Johnson F 6-7 250 1 22.4 10.4 4.1 Charlotte
Michael Jordan G 6-6 198 9 32.4 7.2 5.5 Chicago
Shaquille O'Neal C 7-1 300 1 23.5 13.9 1.7 Orlando
Scottie Pippen F 6-7 210 4 18.8 7.9 6.6 Chicago
Isiah Thomas G 6-1 185 12 16.6 2.9 8.9 Detroit
Reserves
Brad Daugherty C 7-0 263 5 20.6 9.6 4.2 Cleveland
Joe Dumars G 6-3 195 4 23.3 1.8 4.2 Detroit
Patrick Ewing C 7-0 240 7 23.0 12.4 1.9 New York
Larry Nance F 6-10 235 3 17.6 9.0 3.0 Cleveland
Mark Price G 6-0 178 3 19.3 2.7 7.7 Cleveland
Detlef Schrempf F 6-10 230 1 19.7 9.6 5.9 Indiana
Dominique Wilkins F 6-8 200 7 28.7 7.1 3.2 Atlanta
Western Conference - coached by Paul Westphal of Phoenix Suns
Starters
Years
Player P Ht Wt A-S Pts Reb Ast Team
Charles Barkley F 6-6 252 7 25.6 13.0 4.6 Phoenix
Clyde Drexler G 6-7 222 7 19.8 6.4 5.4 Portland
Karl Malone F 6-9 256 6 28.3 12.0 3.7 Utah
David Robinson C 7-1 235 4 23.5 12.2 3.6 San Antonio
John Stockton G 6-1 175 5 14.8 3.1 12.6 Utah
Reserves
Sean Elliott F 6-8 210 1 18.8 4.8 4.3 San Antonio
Tim Hardaway G 6-0 195 3 21.5 4.0 11.1 Golden State
Shawn Kemp F 6-10 245 1 18.5 11.0 1.8 Seattle
Dan Majerle G 6-6 220 2 16.9 4.9 3.6 Phoenix
Danny Manning F 6-10 234 1 22.5 7.0 3.0 LA Clippers
Chris Mullin* F 6-7 215 5 25.9 5.0 3.6 Golden State
Hakeem Olajuwon C 7-0 255 8 25.3 12.9 3.1 Houston
Terry Porter G 6-3 195 2 17.1 3.9 4.9 Portland
Mitch Richmond* G 6-5 215 1 21.9 3.5 4.8 Sacramento
*-injured, will not play.