All I know about basketball is that I've never enjoyed it and REALLY hated my clingy maroon b-ball shorts in middle school, but chose to try the sport anyway because it was indoors. Eventually, though, the squeaking sneakers and that blasted whistle drove me outside to pursue...frisbee or whatever.
All this to say my review comes from a place of ignorance about the game.
I've attended perhaps four NBA games in my entire life, but one of them involved Michael Jordan and I shall never forget it. There was electricity in the gym that night and the little hairs on my arms and legs stood at attention for much of the game. I definitely felt we were in the presence of greatness, that with Michael anything was possible, and his athleticism, talent, and outright skillz put him head and shoulders above anyone else...despite being just 6' 6".
Fortunately, The Last Dance captures all this and more, and what a gem-like time capsule it is.
I'm only 20% of the way through it, but it's electric and my hairs are doing that thing again.
Nevermind that it's about 'basketball.' It could be gladiatorial combat or underwater basket-weaving for all I care: The nut of it is about 'becoming' and 'teamwork' and 'competitive spirit' and 'office politics' and 'the seven deadly sins' and god knows what else. Just LIFE, you know?
And it's friggin' awesome.
Brilliant storytelling works that way. The most arcane subject, told by an alien, about something wholly irrelevant...with a hooky beginning, weaving middle, and twisty end'll rouse 'em every time.
Throw that hook, line and sinker, bro, and let's see what more we can reel in come April 26th when Episodes 3 and 4 drop.
