Editor,
A couple of weeks ago I discovered that the new Michael "Air" Jordan basketball shoes will cost $200 for those interested in buying them. Two hundred dollars! For a pair of shoes? What the hell is wrong with Mr. Jordan? I can understand why Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike, would sell a pair of sneakers for such an outrageous price, but what I don't understand is why Mike would endorse such an overpricing.
I think it's essential to separate Michael the basketball-god from the over-advertised product hooligan that Michael Jordan has really become.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the Bulls during the 1990s, faithfully watching every game, waiting for the basketball gods to descend and deem Air Jordan the highest entity on the planet. And I'll even admit to having a pair of old Air Jordans in my closet. But I think it's time we all realize what Michael Jordan really has become.
Blasphemy, you say. Blasphemy! But what does it mean to buy a pair of shoes? Are we really buying shoes, or are we buying an image, an ideal, a romantic vision? I'd say M.J. is a romantic nightmare gone bad.
Michael Jordan is the father of allowing our shoes to wear us instead of the other way around.
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Superstar athletes always cop out and say they're not role models, but when your name can be compared to political leaders, CEOs and even the Pope, you've got a responsibility beyond what your physical talent has afforded you. I think it's high time Michael Jordan rises up and starts acting like a responsible human being.
We don't need to be convinced to buy another pair of shoes, or to wear Haines underwear or eat a Ball Park frank, we need to be reminded that we all have a responsibility beyond our own personal interests.
I'll always love M.J. for his basketball skills and determination on the court, but as for what he's become as a human being, he's exactly what I've learned to despise.
Joseph Smith
UNM student
