Remembering All the Good
A special time in Chicago indeed.
We have 2 episodes left of The Last Dance. How are you going to watch it and what are you going to remember? Are you going to wish Reinsdorf stepped in to let go of Krause or wish he extended Phil Jackson and kept the team together? What are you going to focus on? To me, this is easy. I choose to focus on all the good. Watching it has been incredible and it seems like each episode is better than the next. From the Dream Team, the Pistons (MJ is spot on about I Thomas), Rodman and Vegas, Toni and Pax’s clutch shooting, Scottie, Steve Kerr, Phil’s brilliance, and the intense drive of MJ…witnessing how human MJ is and watching him on the ground sobbing while hugging the ball in honor of his Dad was powerful. There is so much to take in and this brings me back to a wonderful time when the Bulls were everything Chicago. Even on a random Tuesday night when you walked into a neighborhood diner to pick up gyros to go , the Bulls game was on and everyone was glued watching the team perform at the highest level. And this takes me back to the playoff games with friends standing at a sports bar giving each multiple high fives, and the positive vibe in Chicago. To me it was much more than basketball. It was about being together, seeing the city light up, and watching the greatest dance. It really was a wonderful time. So sure, Pippen’s contract could have been renegotiated, Phil might have stayed, and the Bulls could have won maybe more championships…6 titles in the 1990s was flat out special though. I get why there is a lot of anger and chatter by some who are watching,…we all wanted more and when the dance was over, it really was over. The last 20 years, minus a few playoff games has been bland. The Bulls have been a mediocre team compared to the standard we once had. And we really were so damn spoiled and maybe it will never happen again. I am not saying the Bulls won’t win another championship—we will never see another MJ. So here is my advice: enjoy it and soak it in. Yes, the Bulls like most organizations and families are dysfunctional. Even the ‘85 Bears had a lot of internal strife. And winning hides that really well. Most great companies are not perfect either. Being in the executive search business, I get an inside look at a variety of leaders and cultures. They are all flawed to some extent…even the great companies. But when you have exceptional talent that sets the bar so high and you surround that talent with the right pieces and a focus on a common mission and vision, magical things can happen…. And I am grateful to experience this Bulls team all over again. I am going to remember running out into the streets in Lincoln Park when the Bulls beat the Blazers, waking up at 5 am in Manila to watch playoff games with my Dad and cousins, talking to random strangers about the Bulls, and seeing the city of Chicago lit. I believe, the way the Bulls ended their run was unreal. The last minute of the Utah game in 1998 was MJ’s masterpiece which we will get to revisit. This is the perfect Hollywood ending.
Final thoughts: wishing everyone that has lost their job, lost hope or is in pain right now, all the healing that is possible to rebuild. And to the city of Chicago, be well.