G.O.A.T. TURNS 50

This Sunday is a day in sports that is sure to make millions of sports fans feel their age. Sure, some fans may tune into TNT's broadcast of the NBA all-star game and feel that way watching LeBron James, Blake Griffin and other top NBA stars taking flight in Houston. However, the original king of flight, the true sports icon of a generation, the great Michael Jordan turns fifty years young on Sunday.  This has sports fans across the globe saying, "Damn I'm getting old." Is the greatest sports icon of my youth and possibly ever getting old, turning fifty? How is this even possible? This proves that even living legend can't fight father time.

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It wasn't just his on the court achievements that made Michael Jeffery Jordan the sports icon of his generation. Certainly it is tough to argue with the stats; 10 time scoring champ and ten time first team all NBA, 5 times league MVP and 3 time all-star game MVP, 14 time NBA all-star, a career scoring average of 30.1 points per game, two time Olympic gold medalist, and a 6 time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls.  MJ's impact was felt worldwide off of the court as well. We all wanted to "be like Mike", we all drank Gatorade and wore Air Jordan's, we ate ball park franks, we even all  watched Space Jam. We all we shocked when he retired after his first three championships. We had to suffer with his baseball career choice and the fact that he couldn't hit a curve ball.  We cried when he lost his father in a fatal shooting.  We saw him comeback, win three more titles, including one on father's day when the bulls finished off the Super Sonics. We saw him overcome the flu, hit his famous final shot as a Bull over Bryan Russell, retire again, and unretire yet again for his final run as a player with the Wizards.

Recently we have seen more than a few comparisons made by the media in regards in MJ and LeBron.  Jordan's response was in in typical Jordan fashion. He said that Kobe Bryant is more in his class than LeBron James at the moment due to Kobe's five rings compared to LeBron's one. In fairness to both Kobe and Lebron they are both all-time greats. They are in that same class as Bird, MJ, Magic, and other all-time greats. However neither LeBron nor Kobe will ever have the same impact on and off the court as Jordan. Kobe is not that far off on the court, off of the court not so much. LeBron has had the most media hype since Jordan and certainly has built his brand similar to Jordan, however you can't top the original. LeBron is only 28 years old, and has about a decade to determine where his place amongst the all-time greats will be. So on this day that the legendary Michael Jordan turns fifty, let us appreciate his airness, and not be in such a hurry to crown the successor to his thrown.

- Joe Passarelli