The latest on Jordan

It’s an unlikely cover story for a magazine that has nothing to do with sports. But I’m betting sales of Cigar Aficionado’s July/August 2005 issue, featuring National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Michael Jordan on the cover, hit the roof.

Cigar Aficionado, which comes out six times a year, is called "the good life magazine for men." The New York publication is a lavish 242-page glossy tribute to cigar smokers and made its debut on the shelves in 1992. The size is bigger than the usual magazine, making it a unique 9 1/4 by 11 3/4 inches.

I couldn’t resist shelling out the equivalent of P280, at the exchange rate of P56 to $1, to pick up the Jordan issue when I was in Las Vegas to cover the Global Hoops Summit last month.

Jordan appears holding a long cigar and wearing a plaid sportscoat with a bright gold tie. His expensive gold watch peers out of his left hand sleeve. There’s a gold earring hanging from his left ear lobe. To give the cover a total championship look, Jordan is propped on a background of gold.

On the cover to highlight the Jordan story are the words "The No-Bull Interview–One-on-One with Michael Jordan." A list of topics in the Jordan interview is also on the cover–"his dream team, Shaq and Kobe, best NBA coach, fixing the Knicks and Lakers, Tiger Woods and golf, Washington Wizards, favorite cigars."

Now with that kind of a come-on, you’d be crazy not to buy a copy.

And after I read the 18-page interview and looked at the 25 pictures accompanying the story, I knew I had a collector’s item in my hands.

In the table of contents is a teaser on what to expect from the interview with MJ, described as "a star for all seasons." This is what the teaser says: "The NBA’s supreme deity opens up to editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken about his personal passions, his endorsement deals, his ambitions to own a team, drugs in basketball and kids who go pro. He also names his Dream Team and the cigars he loves."

Shanken and executive editor Gordon Mott, in a section called "Editors’ Note," give an overview of the story:

"Jordan explains why he decided to step forward and let the world know about his passion for cigars. He said it was time to take his life back from the public and go private. He said he wants to talk about pastimes that give him pleasure, even though they may not all be politically correct, like cigar-smoking, like motorcycle riding, like a good bottle of wine. He doesn’t shy away from his responsibilities as a role model but argues that the acknowledgements of his private passions are not endorsements, just honest statements about pleasures that he has the right to enjoy as an adult."

Shaken and Mott describe Jordan’s outlook as "refreshing." For sure, reading the story won’t turn you into a cigar smoker, assuming you’re not. There are several cigar advertisements in the magazine and some carry boxed warnings from the Surgeon General: "Cigar Smoking Can Cause Lung Cancer and Heart Disease," "Tobacco Use Increases the Risk of Infertility, Stillbirth and Low Birth Weight," "Smoking Can Cause Cancers of the Mouth and Throat, Even if You Do Not Inhale" and "Cigars Are Not a Safe Alternative to Cigarettes." Curiously, most of the cigar ads do not carry boxed warnings.

Shanken’s interview is conducted in Jordan’s cigar room at his home in the Chicago suburbs. He is shown being interviewed wearing a round-neck, long-sleeved black shirt, pin-striped pants and black leather shoes, holding, of course, a lit cigar.

Shanken says Jordan may be the greatest basketball player in history and is a sports icon whose fame has transcended his sport and transformed him into a marketing mega-power. Shanken notes that the Nike brand Jordan is almost a $500 Million-a-year business worldwide.

In the interview, Jordan says playing for the University of North Carolina brought him more satisfaction than playing for the Chicago Bulls because it gave him the foundation to become a basketball player. "No one knew me then," he says. "That’s when the notoriety and everything began with Michael Jordan. By the time I got to Chicago, I was drafted there so everybody knew I was at least decent."

Jordan says kids shouldn’t be allowed to go directly from high school to the pros without some kind of college experience.

"You get the chance to mature in college," continues Jordan. "They get a chance to deal with a lot of issues in college. There’s the education aspect, too. College teaches you a lot. It teaches you about being on your own, making decisions and even handling bank accounts."

On his work ethic, Jordan elaborates:

"I was taught to do it (practice hard) that way by my parents and by the way, they approached their daily activities. It wasn’t half-assed. So I practiced like I played. So when I played, playing was fun. Practice is work. You’re working on the idiosyncracies of what your game needs so when the game comes, you showcase it and you utilize it. You build your game on it. Practice wasn’t just a place to take time off. You work on things in practice. On shooting, on going left or on using your left hand–those types of things that help you get better."

Asked what team would be easier to fix, the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan replies:

"The Knicks don’t have any cap space to create a different team. When you look at the Lakers, they may have one or maybe two sustaining long contracts. The Knicks have four. They’d (the Lakers) be easier to fix. I would have never gotten rid of Shaq. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got three championships with a big man and big men are hard to find. Not only that, you have the most dominant big man in the game today. You don’t just send him away because you got some problems."

In tomorrow’s column, Jordan talks about Kobe Bryant, drug use in the NBA, his version of a Dream Team, his choices as the best pure shooter and best clutch shooter ever, his endorsements, his Nike brand Jordan, his experience with the Wizards, his dream of owning the Bulls, his addiction to golf, his gambling, his appreciation for wine, his passion for cigars and a lot, lot more.

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