Despicable Chicago crowd behavior a by-product of arrogance and Michael Jordan’s immense popularity and insularity (Video)

It was a shameful scene at the Bulls’ first Ring of Honor ceremony in Chicago on Friday night, with fans unable to express themselves on a night that was supposed to commemorate one of the greatest eras in franchise history.

The late Jerry Krause, long known as the “architect” by Bulls president Jerry Reinsdorf, built six championship teams in the 1990s . You wouldn’t know it from the way Bulls fans reacted to his widow at halftime, booing her as she represented him at midfield.

Maybe Bulls fans didn’t know Selma Krause was actually in attendance. Maybe some Bulls fans don’t realize that Jerry Krause passed away in 2017 at the age of 77. But when his face appeared on the big screen, they expressed their displeasure with the former general manager, booing mercilessly, much to the dismay of Selma Krause.

Luckily, she was comforted by the Bulls players in attendance, and some of the boos did turn to cheers when some of them realized it was her and not a random image on the big screen. Former Bulls and current TV analyst Stacey King went on the show after halftime to berate Bulls fans for their behavior, and rightfully so. He seemed in disbelief that this was happening in this city, this night.

Still, it’s in many ways indicative of a fractured relationship — between Bulls players, namely Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen; Pippen; Jordan’s relationship with Krause; and fans’ relationship with decision-makers who they believed cheated Jordan’s Bulls into losing more championships and forcing him to retire and later the Wizards Team blue.

As expected, Jordan and Pippen did not attend the two-day event, which began with a private soirée Thursday night. Whatever issues they have with each other, whether it’s personal or tabloid news, just having the two show up could potentially prevent some uncomfortable moments.

These reunions should inspire nostalgia, fond memories and a general respect for what has been achieved. It was a feel-good night where fans didn’t need to be punished for being stupid or acting like they weren’t house-trained.

Chicago was once the envy of the sports world. He married the best athlete of his time and perhaps ever. He’s the most charismatic basketball player, the most marketable athlete, and without a doubt the most ruthless, ruthless competitor.

On Friday, the sports world — a place where almost no one agrees on anything — agreed that the behavior of Bulls fans was deplorable.

Jordan was probably the tiniest athlete to ever walk the face of the earth, which may be a factor in why he accomplished so much in a time when all of our eyes were focused on him. Even if the public knows everything about him, bits and pieces of the pain he’s endured or revealed in some way over the years, people still crave more because Jordan only gives away crumbs.

Even his flaws have somehow become badges of honor over the years, with his bickering and feuds leading many of his fans to take their grievances as their own.

It goes back to an unrecoverable monoculture, a time when sporting emotion perhaps felt more pure and raw, rather than filtered and cultivated by PR teams and well-timed social media blasts.

Therefore, because Jordan was petty-minded and disaffected, his followers had no problem following his example. There’s no doubt that Krause is not a beloved figure in Chicago. He didn’t win any popularity contests, and he certainly wasn’t going to win against Jordan.

He was said to be socially awkward, a bit rude, and certainly overly suspicious. It is said that he can walk right by you and not even know you are there. De La Hoya is paranoid and probably knows nothing about Krause.

The players will always get the glory – their sweat equity, their performance will always be the most important, and that’s how it should be. The coaches are also in the front office, frequently interviewed by the media on a daily basis and closer to the court than the front office.

The front office is often in a lose-lose situation. Some will get credit because they’re screaming from the rooftops that they deserve it – think of a few examples from today’s NBA. But more often than not, they are seen as figures whose jobs could easily be replaced by the man on the street.

We are all expert scouts and talent evaluators, and we can all work some magic into the trade machine and build the perfect team. In the eyes of some, all a general manager can do is screw up a championship team rather than build one.

But even a figure like Krause, who was often booed during his championship years, should be appreciated over time — and Chicago couldn’t give him that even after his death. He wasn’t the victim here, and he was certainly full of flaws, and he let his pride tell Phil Jackson that no matter what happened, he would never coach the Bulls again after the 1998 season.

After that, the battle lines were more clearly defined, and Reinsdorf did not prevent Kraus from going too far.

Jordan and Krause had a competitive relationship, with Krause apparently telling Jordan that Elgin Baylor was the greatest player of all time – as if Jordan needed extra motivation. Some say both men were bullying in their own way – neither giving the other a nickel. Long before ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” it was documented, notably in Sam Smith’s best-selling book “The Jordan Rules,” released in 1991.

ESPN’s documentary seemed to open up old wounds, or reveal pain that many people didn’t know existed. Jordan’s popularity dwarfed that of everyone else, and probably still does. His greatness isn’t exaggerated, but perhaps it obscures the wisdom of how Krause formed two distinct championship eras over the past decade.

Trading Bill Cartwright and sending away Charles Oakley before the 1989 season was not a popular move in Jordan’s mind, but it turned out to be a good one. Krause cultivated a relationship with an unknown hippie named Phil Jackson, then hired him after firing Doug Collins, which came to fruition a little over a year later in 1991 , the triangle offense at that time became the catalyst for Jordan’s dominance while also allowing the rest of his teammates to excel in the game. The road to championship.

The arrogance Krause showed in dismantling the ’98 championship team and believing he could create another one without Jordan is not the same as rebuilding his first championship team into a second. It’s the same hubris as a three-peat team — picking up a rival to Dennis Rodman when Rodman was a Bull and a wild boy who was thought to be more trouble than he was worth.

Victory is fragile. One wrong move could derail a team’s chemistry or alter its path to a championship. Signing Steve Kerr and acquiring Ron Harper after a weakening knee injury — Harper turned himself into a solid wing defender — helped the Bulls win down the stretch of the past three championships. .

Of course, it was easier to do this when Jordan was in his prime, if not his absolute prime. But as we’ve seen across different versions of the NBA, simply having the best players doesn’t guarantee anything — and, of course, it creates room for error. Think about it: For all his greatness and longevity, LeBron James is two rings behind Jordan, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to catch Jordan.

Without Jordan, Krause was unable to recreate his magic and stepped down in 2003. In the 25 seasons since, the Bulls have been unable to replicate their glory days, save for a few promising periods.

But Krause likely saved Jordan from himself. As shown in the documentary, the ’98 team was furious. Pippen basically stopped being an elite player, and Rodman played almost no meaningful basketball after that — and boy, did he falter that season and make random trips to Las Vegas.

The 1999 season was shortened by the lockout, squeezing 50 games from February 5 to May 5, which was a heavy burden on an already exhausted team that was unlikely to win another championship. .

Imagine the excuses if the San Antonio Spurs beat the Bulls, or the Knicks or Pacers beat them first.

Jordan understandably wants to die by the sword. It’s a poetic feeling that a champion is still a champion but no longer holds a crown. There’s some art to digging deeper, but someone else’s will be bigger than yours, or just young legs running past you. This is how the passing of the torch usually happens. Ironically, that’s exactly what Chicago saw against Friday night’s opponent, the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors win their last championship in 2022, and it’s likely to be a surprise one for which they don’t have to apologize. But it looks like they can’t speed up and relive those glory days. Of course, at night, they could probably beat anyone. But as currently constituted, they face too many obstacles — both internal and competitive — to get back to June given that anything can happen personnel-wise.

Maybe that’s what Bulls fans want to see from their team, but considering they clung so tightly to those six championship pearls, they believed Jordan could conquer it all, and somehow Krause was too early ​​It ended what could have been more championships.

In fact, this is questionable.

Unfortunately, Chicago didn’t think so and couldn’t even make Krause’s widow proud to remember the things her husband did best.

Shameful indeed.