Michael Jordan Had A Custom Practice Facility Built On The Set Of Space Jam Just So He Could Mix In Pick-Up Games
I was 9 years old when Space Jam came out in 1996. You could argue now and at the time that it was the single greatest time to be a 9 year old in childhood history. Michael Jordan. 96 Olympics and Dominique Moceanue. N64 and playstation were about to hit the market while Super Nintendo bridged a seemingly unbridgeable gap. It was pre-internet so you had to basically be good at physical activity or your life sucked (preferred social hierarchy tiering tbh) but before Bill Clinton got his dick sucked in the oval office so public trust was sky high. It was a great time to be alive.
But notably for 9 year old Carl, it was because of Space Jam. Yes I loved watching MJ dominate Patrick Ewing & John Starks every year for like 27 years but nothing and I mean NOTHING compared to him taking down the Monstars.
Growing up under MJ's leadership like I did... it's hard to memorialize just how much of an impact he had on me and my friends. You could argue my generation's life in Chicago is materially different because we grew up expecting championships. That he would travel to another planet to save Bugs Bunny isn't that ridiculous when you really consider his entire body of work.
And behind all of it is the same competitive psychopath that couldn't go one day of filming without sending a limo for Reggie Miller to come get his ass whooped at lunch. Flying in Alonzo Mourning just to get dunked on between scenes. Taking the Key Grip guy 1-on-1 because nobody else will take the action and Michael's getting angry. He let a camera guy score 4 days ago and it's still bothering him.
That's my Michael Jordan and none of this surprises me. The GOAT for a reason don't even @ me with a #2-10 right now.