Michael Jordan In what way did he fulfill the American Dream? - Facharbeit von Marian Lenz
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium Münster-Hiltrup
Schuljahr 2008/2009
L K Englisch 12.2 (Frau L ätzel)
Michael Jordan
In what way did he fulfill the American
Dream?
Facharbeit
von
Marian Lenz
Drensteinfurt / Münster
März 2009
Table of contents
1 Introduction 3/4
2 The American Dream 4
2.1 Liberty/ Freedom 4
2.2 Individualism 4
2.3 Mobility/ Flexibility 5
2.4 Hard Work 5
2.5 Progress 5
2.6 Patriotism 5/6
3 Michael Jordan 6
3.1 Short Biography 6
3.2 Childhood 6-9
3.3 Adult life- Setting new standards 9
3.3.1 On the court 9-12
3.3.2 Off the court 12/13
4 What separated MJ from other players? 13/14
5 Summary 14
6 Index of Literature 15
7 Appendix 16-18
2
1 Introduction
In my introduction I want to introduce you to my “Facharbeit“ and give you a short
impression of why I chose this topic, what this topic means to me personally and what I did
during my working phase to get information.
I began playing basketball in my spare time at the age of 11 and since that time basketball is
a huge part of my life.
So when I heard that we had to write a “Facharbeit“ in grade 12, it was obvious for me that I
wanted to write about something related to basketball and our topic at the English class
about the American Dream gave me a great opportunity to combine the American Dream and
basketball in my “Facharbeit“ by writing about a player fulfilling his personal American
Dream.
At first I was thinking of writing about a player like LeBron James, Allen Iverson or Dwayne
Wade who have a story like a lot of black sport- or rap-stars and who are some kind of role
models for me. Their “from rags to riches” stories including growing up without a father in the
ghetto and then fighting all the way to the top really fascinated me.
But then I was thinking about the man who made those things possible. The man who not
just changed the game of basketball completely and put it on another level, but he also was
the first black athlete who ever became that successful in terms of marketing and
advertisement. Therefore this man was a role model for a lot of (black) people like LeBron &
Co. to fulfill their personal American Dream and this is why I chose Michael Jordan.
At first I want to give you a definition of the American Dream and its components (Chapter 2),
so that we can later see in what way Michael Jordan fulfilled this American Dream (Chapter
3). To get a better impact of this I divided Chapter 3 in three segments. The first segment
(3.1) is a short biography where you get a first overview of who Michael Jordan is. The
second segment (3.2) deals with Michael’s childhood where his character was formed and
where he had to overcome the first obstacles.
The third segment (3.3), which deals with his life as an adult, is again divided into two
segments in which I’m going to explain in what way MJ was setting new standards on the
basketball court as a player (3.3.1) and apart from the basketball court as an advertisement
icon and businessman (3.3.2).
In Chapter 4 I asked myself the question: What is so special about Michael Jordan and what
separated him from other players? I try to explain why it was this Michael Jeffrey Jordan from
Brooklyn, New York who was able to change the game of basketball and the advertisement
and marketing industry to this extent and not somebody else.
In the end (Chapter 5) I want to give a brief summary of my results and may point out
possible problems I had during my working phase.
3
To get information about my topic I first went to the “Stadtbücherei Münster“, but they had no
books about Michael Jordan. Therefore I had to find alternatives and was able to provide me
an insight into some books like “Driven from Within“ by Mark Vancil or “A biography“ by
Michael Jordan and David L. Porter on the internet.
I was also able to get information about MJ from my own stock of basketball magazines like
the “FIVE“ or the “BASKET“ and from old TV broadcasts about Michael at the North
American sports channel TNT at youtube.
I hope my “Facharbeit“ is going to be interesting for you to read.
2 The American Dream
In my second chapter I want to define what the American Dream really is so that you can
later see in what way Michael Jordan fulfilled it. But, it’s quite difficult to define or narrow
down the concept of the American Dream, because of the fact that the American Dream is a
myth and everybody, even inside the USA, has another personal opinion or definition of what
the American Dream is for him or her.
So, because of the fact that you cannot give an exact definition of the American Dream, I’m
going to present the different components of the American Dream which even today give the
USA its character.
You’re going to see that a lot of aspects do not play a role in the social rise of Michael
Jordan, but I want to mention them anyhow, because of the fact that you can see by this that
not every aspect is necessary to make the American Dream come true.
2.1 Liberty/ Freedom
One of the key elements of the American Dream is liberty. The Americans want to be free
from rules and regulations and want to be able to do what they want to do. They also
understand freedom in their country the same way the Founding Fathers did, that “all people
are equal”1 and have the “freedom of speech, press and religion."1
2.2 Individualism
The thought of individualism is another important component of the American Dream and is
closely related to freedom and liberty. The Americans want to be free from those regulations
and therefore want to take responsibility of one’s own fate. Their motto is: “If you work hard,
1 Klett 2006, p.1
4you prosper – if you fail, it’s your own fault.”2 This belief shaped a competitive American
society.
2.3 Mobility/ Flexibility
The searching for new frontiers in America has an old tradition. Originally it were the old
Americans who were “settling the West” and searching for new frontiers after the
Independence Day on July 4 in 1776. These people were searching for new frontiers in terms
of new land to cultivate, finding new resources and gaining more freedom. Today this
searching for new frontiers can still be regarded in the US. The current American population
is trying to set new standards in terms of Army, science and improving their social situation
(e.g. getting a better job) and they still do this “with the same sense of optimism about their
chances to succeed”3 as the old Americans.
2.4 Hard Work
One of the most famous proverbs about the American Dream is the saying from “rags to
riches”. The main thought of this is “the notion that- if a person works hard- that person will
achieve his or her goals and improve his or her position in life.”4 The Americans see the
“material success through hard work […] as a sign of God’s favor and a good education as
the key to prosperity.”5 This aspect of the American Dream simply should show that
everybody can reach everything if he or she just works indefatigably to reach his or her goal.
Even a person coming from poor social conditions can revalue his social rank today. This
wasn’t always the case in the American history. Until the middle of the 20th century blacks
didn’t have the same rights as the white population in the US and were often oppressed by
them, but today even that changed and now everybody has a chance to realize his dream.
2.5 Progress
Closely related to the hard work is the term progress. Progress is very important to the
Americans. They not just want to make use of every opportunity themselves, but also as the
whole nation all together they feel like they have a mission to spread “democracy and the
2 Worksheet from English class, p.1
3 Klett 2006, p.1
4 Hoffmann 2000, p.8
5 Klett 2006, p.1
5Western way of life across the world”6 and “argue that the nations progress is reflected in its
growing prosperity, economic strength and political power.”7 The population of the USA has
the aim to be the best in nearly every category and absolutely believes in the possibility to
progress.
2.6 Patriotism
American people often have a very patriotic attitude, are proud to be American and use every
opportunity to represent their country. This national pride can be visited in many situations for
example in the national sport leagues where the national anthem is played before every
game or at American houses where a lot of times the “Stars and Stripes”, the American flag,
can be seen in front of the houses.
3 Michael Jordan
On the following pages, I’m going to combine the American Dream with Michael Jordan and
I’m trying to find out which components of the American Dream played a role in the life of
possibly the best player who ever played the game of basketball.
3.1 Short Biography
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on the 17th of February, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, but
grew up as the fourth of five children in upper- middle class conditions in Wilmington, North
Carolina.
Michael was interested in sports from the very beginning and played not just basketball, but
also baseball and football at high school.
Nevertheless basketball was the sport Michael was the most successful at.
After his high school time Michael Jordan joined the North Carolina Tar Heels, the college
basketball team of the famous University of North Carolina and played there for three years.
During his first year as a freshman at Chapel Hill, Michael was named ACC8 Freshman of the
Year and led his Tar Heels to the NCAA9 Championship by hitting the game winning jumper in
6 Klett 2006, p.1
7 Klett 2006, p.1
8 ACC= Atlantic Coast Conference
9 NCAA= National Collegiate Athletic Association
61982 against the Georgetown Hoyas.
Then, after earning the College Player of the Year Award in his sophomore and junior year at
college, Michael decided to enter the NBA and was selected third overall in the 1984 NBA
Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
In Michael’s NBA career he won six NBA titles and a large amount of individual awards,
before he finally retired after several comebacks in 2003.
3.2 Childhood
The origin of Michael Jordan’s success and the fulfillment of his personal American Dream
lies in his childhood. The people who were the most important to him was his family, and it
were his parents who first showed him how it is to make this American Dream come true.
Michael’s parents, James Jordan and Deloris Peoples, grew up in poor conditions on farms
in North Carolina.
James Jordan first served in the U.S. Air Force, which shows the first aspect of the American
Dream (patriotism) which Michael later took over from his father.
While James attended a General Electric training school in Brooklyn, New York, James and
Deloris lived there for a while with their three children and at that point Michael was born on
February 17, 1963.
When Michael was still a toddler, James retired from the Air Force and the family moved
back to Wallace, North Carolina, where James started to work as a forklift operator at the
General Electric Company and Deloris as a drive-through window teller at a bank.
But the Jordan’s weren’t satisfied with their situation and they were soon able to get better
jobs in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Michael’s father “was promoted at General Electric
to dispatcher, foreman and equipment supervisor of three departments [while] Deloris
advanced to head teller at United Carolina Bank and then head of customer relations at the
downtown office.”1 0 At
this early point in Michael’s life he was already able to see what it takes to improve his social
situation, because of the fact that his parents exemplified this mobility/ flexibility and hard
work factor of the American Dream by constantly striving for a better job or a better financial
situation to Michael through their own lives. Thanks to his
hard working parents Michael was able to avoid a life in the rough streets of a big city, where
many of his future teammates had to fight through, and was also able to avoid many of those
racial tensions and civil rights violence which were still present in the U.S., because of the
fact that there were still a lot of blacks who were oppressed by white people and which made
it difficult for those people to fulfill their American Dream. This equality factor is another
1 0 Porter 2007, p.1
7component of the American Dream which Michael’s parents exemplified to him through their
own lives. “Deloris wanted Michael to judge others on their merits rather than their skin
color.”1 1 Nevertheless,
Michael’s parents had an influence on him in different perspectives. While “both parents
imbued him with their strong work ethic, the will to strive for excellence in their chosen fields,
and a sense of priorities”1 2 , it was James who was Michael’s inspiration in terms of his love of
athletics, mischievousness and his tongue-wagging which James always did when he was
working on something and Michael later copied it when he was driving to the basket.
On the other end it was Michael’s mother Deloris who “gave him motivation, discipline, a
perfectionist attitude, competitiveness, and a drive to win.”1 3
Those are all components which are important for improving someone’s social situation and
for fulfilling someone’s American Dream and by teaching Michael such important basic
things, his parents had a huge impact on the character of Michael Jordan, which would later
in his life be his best weapon on and off the court.
But the one they would later call “His Airness” was only interested in developing in one
category and that was sport. He was, unlike his four siblings, not interested in doing
household chores, working to earn some money or learning for school, but Michael didn’t
care about those things and was only focused on being “the best player in whatever sport
[he] played.”1 4 This again shows this optimism factor of the American Dream, the sense of
optimism about his chances to succeed, that Michael feels that it’s not necessary to work in
other categories as well.
At first Michael was way too skinny and small for basketball, but he didn’t give up and worked
hard to improve his jumping skills and on other basic basketball skills.
One other reason why MJ worked so hard was his older brother Larry, with whom he played
pick-up one-on-one games nearly every day and who Michael just wasn’t able to defeat for
many years. Michael’s competitive attitude and his love for overcoming obstacles led to the
fact that Michael worked harder and harder every time he lost to Larry and even “hung from a
1 1 Porter 2007, p.2
1 2 Porter 2007, p.2
1 3 Porter 2007, p.2
1 4 Zitat von Michael Jordan in Porter 2007, p.2
8chin-up bar to stretch his body.”1 5 So Michael not just wanted to progress in his skills, but also
in length to overcome more obstacles. Michael’s tireless will to win was the reason why he
was able to reach so many of his goals. “If he lost, he played again until he won.”1 6
This attitude was also the reason why he stood up again after not being selected for the
varsity squad as a sophomore in high school, and it was also his optimism and self-
confidence which you need to realize the American Dream that made him believe in himself
and did not give up after that disappointment. The opposite happened as Jordan saw this
failure as an extra motivation and wanted to prove especially the coaches of the varsity that
they had made a mistake. He wanted to be on the varsity so badly that he even carried the
clothes of the star player just to be with the team. So that it really was kind of a “from rags to
riches”-story when he not just made the team the next year, but led them in scoring, became
a McDonald’s All-American and earned a scholarship from the renowned University of North
Carolina. He was able to reach so many goals just by his awesome work ethic.
He was working out every morning before school and even left lessons to practice at that
time instead. Michael said:”Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to
stop, I’d close my eyes and see the list in the locker room without my name on it, and that
usually got me going again.”1 7 At
college Michael kept his work ethic and even gained a huge bunch of confidence as his
college coach Dean Smith trusted Michael to take the final shot in the NCAA finals in 1982
against the Georgetown Hoyas and MJ hit the game winning jump shot. Michael called that a
“turning point”1 8 in his career and said:”Making this shot against Georgetown in 1982 kind of
ignited the fire inside of me that no one else is going to stop me.”1 9 This turning point was
another important factor which made Michael Jordan realize his American Dream, this
optimism about his chances to succeed which also is going to be an important factor in his
upcoming career in the NBA.
1 5 Porter 2007, p.3
1 6 Porter 2007, p.3
1 7 Porter 2007, p.5
1 8 TNT 2003, TV extract
1 9 HARDWOOD Classics 1999, DVD
93.3 Adult life- Setting new standards
After a successful college career at Chapel Hill Michael entered the NBA and would set a lot
of new standards. As a player he would later be called the Greatest of All Time and as a
businessman he would help Nike gain international success and put the advertisement
standards on another level as an advertisement icon in the 80’s and 90’s.
3.3.1 On the court
As a player Michael Jordan definitely was setting new standards in many different ways, is
looking to progress and is always searching for new frontiers.
But, at the beginning of MJ’s past college career, another aspect of the American Dream, the
aspect of patriotism played a role in Michael’s life. Michael led the proud American Basketball
Team to an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and did that again in 1992 with the legendary Dream
Team. There you can see Michael’s patriotic attitude that he got from his father and see that
he likes to present America in the world and is proud to be an American.
Another very important aspect of the American Dream was shown in Michael’s early years in
the NBA.
Due to his excellent work ethic, Jordan’s career started very successfully by earning many
trophies and personal awards. At the point where a lot of players would be satisfied with the
situation and would stop working hard on their game, when they had won MVP awards,
scoring titles and other personal awards like MJ had, this was never an option for Michael
Jordan. “When my played started providing me with rewards, then I wanted to prove I
deserved them. I never felt the desire to rest on what I had accomplished. I never felt like I
deserved to drive a Bentley when I got my first contract, or live in a mansion. Those things
might be symbols of success to some people, but there are a lot of people who confuse
symbols with actual success.”2 0 , Michael said about this time of his life and this shows the
aspect of the American Dream that Michael was not satisfied with the things he had reached
and was constantly searching for new frontiers.
The title he now was absolutely focused on was the NBA championship trophy, the title which
he thought would make him one of the greatest basketball players in that age. But there was
another huge obstacle Michael had to deal with to fulfill his dream of the “Larry O’Brien”-
trophy: The so called bad boys of the Detroit Pistons. The team MJ and his bulls lost three
years in a row against in the playoffs, because they were not able to compete against this
rough physical play of the Pistons. But Michael attitude was:”Obstacles don’t have to stop
you. If you run into a wall don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go
2 0 Vancil, Jordan 2006, p.13
10through it, or work around it.”2 1 And Michael found a way to overcome this obstacle, by
bringing a new method of training into the NBA, the strength training. At that time many
players were in fear of losing their quickness when they did too much strength training, but
Michael saw it as the only way to compete against these brutal opponents. Those points
stress again this optimism-to-succeed-factor of the American Dream and Michaels search for
new frontiers by going new ways which were never gone before.
At this point of Jordan’s career there was another component of the American Dream which
played a role in his life, the aspect of individualism. But in another way as you might think. In
the first years of his career up to the year 1991, Michael took this individualism factor of the
American Dream very serious and thought that he was responsible for his own fate and the
fate of his franchise and therefore Michael was a very selfish basketball player who didn’t
trust his teammates and seldom passed the ball.
The Pistons knew about Jordan’s attitude towards this and took advantage of it by constantly
double and triple teaming Michael whenever he touched the ball, because they knew that he
wouldn’t pass the ball anyway and would try to score by himself, because of his individualism
attitude.
In 1991 Michael started to trust his teammates more and started to pass them the ball and by
doing this, he was able to lead the Bulls to three championships in a row (in ‘91/’92/’93) and
at that point you can see that this individualism aspect of the American Dream didn’t quite fit
to the fulfillment of MJ’s personal American Dream and that it’s not necessary to have every
aspect of the American Dream in your personal one.
On top of that you could visit this “never-being-satisfied” attitude of Michael in those years
again. He said:”When we won one championship, then I wanted to win two in a row. When
we won two, I wanted to win three in a row because Larry2 2 and Magic2 3 never won three
straight. That’s why great leaders are those who lead by example first.”2 4
But after this first three-peat of his career Michael was searching for a new challenge. And
this and the fact that Michael wanted to fulfill the (American) Dream of his father James, who
was murdered in the summer of 1993 by two teenagers at a highway rest area, Michael
2 1 FIVE magazine 2007, p.65
2 2 Larry Bird, former Boston Celtics legend
2 3 Earvin “Magic“ Johnson, former L.A. Lakers legend
2 4 Vancil, Jordan 2006, p.13
11announced his first retirement in that summer because he wanted to play professional
baseball in the North American professional baseball league MLB. It has always been a
dream of his father to play baseball in the MLB himself or later that one of his sons would
play there and at this point you can see that Michael is not just searching for new frontiers
himself, but also wanted others (in this case his father James) to realize their personal
American Dream.
After a two year absence from basketball, Michael came back to the Chicago Bulls in 1995,
now wearing number 45 on his jersey, but was defeated with his Bulls in the Eastern
Conference semi-finals by the Orlando Magic featuring center Shaquille O’Neal.
At this time there were many doubters who thought that Michael would never be the same
again and would not be able to lead the Chicago Bulls to another NBA championship.
It were these doubters who motivated Michael the most, because he wanted to prove that he
could still do it and at that point the hard work aspect of the American Dream played a major
role in Michael “Air” Jordan’s life again as he was pushing himself to the limit and worked as
hard as never before in his life.
This hard work paid off in the upcoming three years (‘96/’97/’98) as the Bulls won three
straight championships for the second time in Michael’s career and Michael, who was
wearing jersey number 23 again, won several individual awards as well.2 5 In the eyes of
many experts this was one of sport history’s greatest comebacks and Michael kind of re-
fulfilled his personal American Dream by this.
As Michael was on the top of the world, as NBA champion, the league’s MVP and leading
scorer and as the MVP of the All-Star Game and the finals, he retired for the second time
after the 1997/1998 season.
Up to this point Michael had been an inspiration and a role model for many young (black)
players who believed in the realization of their personal American Dream thanks to him and
so Michael Jordan not just fulfilled his own personal American Dream, but on top of that
paved the way for many other people like a Kobe Bryant or a Tracy McGrady to fulfill their
American Dream.
It were those players Michael Jordan played against when he came back for the last time in
2001 when he started to play for the Washington Wizards. After he was not able to push the
franchise to a playoff contender from the front office of the Wizards, where Michael had an
ownership and team executive role, his desire to progress, his desire to search new frontiers
and his desire to improve the situation of the team became so big that Michael stepped back
on the basketball court for the Washington Wizards to do this by himself. Nevertheless
Michael Jordan wasn’t able to reach the playoffs with the Wizards and retired after two years
2 5 For a complete list of Michael Jordan’s accomplishments look in the appendix
12in 2003 for the final and last time. At the end of his Washington time Michael stressed:”I can
accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”2 6
As a player, throughout his career Michael has answered every challenge and stood out due
to his tremendous work ethic. “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will
come. I don’t do anything half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-
hearted results.”2 7 And with this attitude Michael also strived for excellence as a businessman
off the court.
3.3.2 Off the court
Off the court Michael “Air” Jordan’s career started in 1984, when Michael entered the NBA to
play for the Chicago Bulls.
It was the time when the (at that time) small sport company NIKE offered this young Michael
Jeffrey Jordan out of North Carolina a lucrative deal including a signature shoe.
NIKE was, just as Jordan, searching for new frontiers on the sneaker market and therefore
Michael’s first signature shoe, the red, white and black colored Nike Air Jordan I, was
completely different from the constant white shoes of that time and was even forbidden by
NBA-Comissioner David Stern. NIKE used that as a clever advertising campaign to sell the
new shoes more than two million times in the first three years and “earned not just three
million dollars in the first four years as they hoped to at the beginning, but 50 times as
much.”2 8 , as Jordan’s Manager David Falk explained. In the upcoming years he had a huge
impact on the establishment of NIKE to one of the most successful sport brands in the world
and even got his own subsidiary company from NIKE with the Jordan Brand.
Today the Jordan Brand is a 500-million-dollar company and by this you can see that Jordan
not just lived his own little “from rags to riches”-story but was also working hard to progress
and to improve the economic situation of NIKE.
“There were no models for what happened at Nike, and certainly nothing close to what we
have created with Brand Jordan.”2 9 This quotation of MJ stresses the individualism factor of
the American Dream and shows that NIKE and Jordan had no role models from which they
2 6 TNT 2003, TV extract
2 7 TNT 2003, TV extract
2 8 Kilic 2007, p.78
2 9 Vancil, Jordan 2006, p.8
13copied something, but invented own, new things and were taking responsibility for their own
fate.
Next to NIKE “His Airness” also has been an advertisement figure for brands like
McDonald’s, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Wheaties, Ball Park Franks, Hanes, Rayovac
and MCI WorldCom and was even called “the greatest endorser of the 20th century”3 0 by
NIKE president Phil Knight.
Michael’s advertisement impact was so immense, that he gained 45 million dollars in 1996
just through commercial deals and in 1998 the US-economic magazine Fortune calculated
Michael’s impact on the economy to ten billion US-dollars and named him the “All Time
Endorsement King”3 1 in their article called “The Jordan Effect”. On
top of that you can visit Jordan’s strive to progress in many areas. He wasn’t just satisfied
with having an own brand and earning a lot of money through commercial deals. Michael
wanted to have control in many areas. “I don’t believe in following. I believe in leading.”3 2
Today “Air” Jordan also has an own motorcycle racing team, 40 golf ranges, owns several
restaurants, is part-owner of an NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, and even has an own
perfume series called Michael Jordan-23. His books, DVDs and videos are legendary and his
cine film Space Jam where MJ played alongside Bugs Bunny brought in more than 450
million dollars.
All in all Michael Jordan is an awesome phenomenon in terms of marketing and
advertisement and this is mainly due to his huge amount of charisma. At that point you can
also visit this freedom factor of the American Dream in the businessman Michael Jordan.
Before Michael there was never a black player who could be promoted like him and therefore
Michael is even in this equality category some kind of a pioneer.
4 What separated MJ from other players?
If you ask me, the answer this question is deeply related in Michael Jordan’s basketball skills
and the way he plays the game. It’s a mixture of unbelievable athletic ability with lightning
quick skills, fundamental basketball skills (a good ball handling, a dangerous midrange jump
shot, aggressive defense) and Michael’s incredible self-confident and competitive brain which
made him so unique. “His
3 0 Meyers 1997, p.17
3 1 Fortune magazine 1998
3 2 Vancil, Jordan 2006, pp.8/9
14Airness” has taken the black game of the street with all its athleticism, emotions and trash-
talk to the, by whites dominated, NBA. It is his graceful and improvisational style that has
captivated American audiences, blacks and whites, and audiences from around the world for
more than a decade. Jordan has
re-invented the game of basketball with his mixture of spectacular black street game
featuring a huge amount of stunning slam dunks and circus shots on the one hand and his
fundamental passing, shooting and defensive skills which was performed by the white
generation before.
Michael “Air” Jordan was the first ever all-around player in the history of the NBA who
mastered every part of the game of basketball, was on top of that very, very spectacular to
watch, but was still not a one dimensional show-maker, but a competitive player who wanted
to win every time he stepped on the basketball court. Before Michael there had been a lot of
one dimensional player in the NBA who could do one thing of the game but were never able
to master every part of it.
As Michael Jordan could combine all of those factors that make you a great player and on
top of that had that was such a charismatic and open-minded person, Michael was loved by
the society and was adored by younger players, especially blacks from poor conditions who
saw him as a role model. Because of that impact that he had, and still has today, on the
society, Michael became a requested commercial figure.
With his game Michael Jordan was able to transcend racial barriers between blacks and
whites in the US, because he was able to combine both of those styles as a player and as a
businessman.
5 Summary
All in all I think, it is obvious that Michael Jordan is a perfect example of someone who
fulfilled his personal American Dream, through hard work and a constant strive to progress to
improve his current situation.
In his whole life Michael Jordan was searching for new frontiers and when he reached one
goal, he was never satisfied and was searching for new frontiers again.
Michael Jordan really fulfilled a unique American Dream in my opinion and was on top of that
a role model for many, many other people to fulfill their personal American Dream.
But, what I also found out is that, when you take a closer look at Michael’s life and his career,
you’re going to notice that there are some aspects of the American Dream that don’t fit to
Jordan’s personal American Dream and I guess that is what is significant for the American
Dream: That there is no real definition for it, but you can definitely say that every American
Dream is different.
For me, although I already knew a lot about Michael Jordan and his career, it was very
15interesting to deal with this topic, because I also got to know a lot of new things about him.
Now, I understand my idols like LeBron James and Chris Paul better why they adore Michael
Jordan as much as they do and why so many of the current NBA players want to “be like
mike.”3 3 It’s because Michael “Air” Jordan is the toughest competitor that ever existed in the
game of basketball.
My only problem with this “Facharbeit” was the, for me nearly impossible, challenge off
putting all of the important things I knew about this topic on just twelve pages.
6 Index of Literature
Primärliteratur:
Porter, David L.: Michael Jordan: A Biography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood
Biographies, 2007
Vancil, Mark/ Jordan, Michael: Driven from Within. Chicago, Illinois, 2006
Hoffmann, Kirsten: The American Dream- Promise and Reality. Stuttgart, 2000
Meyers, Bill: Nike vs. Oakley: Swooshed. In: USA Today. December 12, 1997. p.17C-18C
Kilic, Emrah: Jordan Brand: Ein Star wird zur Marke. In: BASKET 1/2007,Bielefeld: Delius
Klasing, 2007. p.78
FIVE magazine: Timewarp: Chicago vs. Detroit. In: FIVE Issue 40, München: piranha media
GmbH, 2007. pp.62-65
Klett: Sicher ins Abitur- The American Dream then and now. Stuttgart: Ernst Klett Verlag
GmbH 2006. pp.1/2
Sekundärliteratur:
Fortune magazine: The Jordan Effect. In: Fortune, 1998
Sonstige Quellen:
TNT Salutes Michael Jordan- All-Star Game, Atlanta, Georgia, 2003
HardWood Classics: Michael Jordan, DVD, 1999
Worksheet from English class: The American Dream- some key expressions, p.1
3 3 Slogan from Gatorade commercial with Michael Jordan
167 Appendix
1718
19
Erklärung
Ich versichere hiermit, dass ich diese Arbeit selbstständig angefertigt und keine anderen
als die von mir angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet habe. Die den benutzten
Werken wörtlich oder inhaltlich entnommenen Stellen sind als solche gekennzeichnet.
20You can also read
