The Last Dance and Me
“Winning has a price and leadership has a price”
There’s no real way I can describe the impact ‘The Last Dance’ has had on me – the 10 part documentary ends today and to be honest, I’m too afraid to finish it. A part of me wants to continue following the story but then that wouldn’t make it ‘The Last Dance’ then would it. From the stories of Dennis Rodman, the insight into the breakdown between Jerry Krause and the team and the tragic murder of his father – the story of Michael Jordan is not for the faint-hearted and it’s not the sweet fairy tale I imagined it was – yes, unfortunately I can now confirm Space Jam was not a biopic...
As fun as it’s been to watch, ‘The Last Dance’ has made me reflect on my own life, specifically about the sacrifices I have made to be where I am today. The relationships I didn’t nurture or the people I may have hurt because of my ‘mentality’. It’s a sobering feeling and something that resonated with me whilst the documentary progressed. It made me pause and ask myself ‘what the fu*k am I doing’. Now don’t (ever) get it twisted – I know where I want to be and best believe the plan is in place on how I’m going to get there but from a personal perspective, have I really ever taken the time to ask myself ‘WTF am I doing and what will it cost me?’ enough in my adult life?
“I wanted to win but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well”
I’ve always had a laid-back mentality when it comes to my personal relationships, you know the type – the sibling that replies to your grievances with ‘it is what it is’, the partner that says ‘we’ll figure it out’ and the friend that encourages you with the classic ‘trust the process’, but how does that mentality – my mentality - impact the personal relationships I have with the people around me, better yet, the people I will have around me in the future. Will I find myself having to justify why I had such a mentality? What will be the impact on those that came and left my life and for the ones that stayed, did my personality help them ‘win’?
“Look, I don’t have to do this, I’m only doing it because it is who I am…”
That’s why the last five minutes of episode 7 really spoke to me. I am the way I am because this is the only way I can be in order to achieve what I want in life. Yes, it comes with ‘bad’ traits but also many ‘positive’ traits too. I guess the challenge I face with all my personal relationships is whether there is a better way for me to be to those around me? A better way but with the same endgame.
You are who you are, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to ask the ‘why’. I get it, trust me I do, we have all endured experiences that have made us the people we are today. I guess watching ‘The Last Dance’ just makes me want to acknowledge my own ‘origin story’ before I ‘win’ my own version of 6 world championships, and I think – it’s key that you do too because even though there’s only one Michael Jeffery Jordan, in some small way, we’re all still trying to Be Like Mike.
BY MELLY
You can watch ‘The Last Dance’ on Netflix.
“That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t want to play that way, don’t play that way…”
