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Eerily quiet Jordan's camp silent on day of remembrance
Updated: Monday September 17, 2001 8:46 PM
I stopped by the Michael Jordan pickup game on Chicago's West Side last Friday, and it was quiet. Eerily quiet. No signs of His Airness. The familiar sight of his red Ferrari or silver Porsche parked in its usual spot, right by the front doors of his restaurant across the lot, could not be seen on this day. Instead of a group of autograph seekers, there were only a few small plastic U.S. flags flapping from a nearby railing. Nor were there any signs of the other NBA stars who have made the area in front of Hoops the Gym a hub of activity in recent weeks. No Penny Hardaway dressed in his vintage No. 1 Bucks jersey, talking excitedly about his own comeback hopes. No Antoine Walker tooling off in his cream Bentley, the one with the license plates "Toine 8." No Michael Finley test-driving one of those newfangled electric bikes down the sidewalk as onlookers hoot and holler. Last Friday was supposed to be the last day of "Comeback Camp" for some of the players. It should have been a day for them to gather in front, to laugh and joke and say goodbye after weeks of training together. Apparently nobody felt like it. I don't know if the Jordan pickup games Friday were canceled because of the terrorist attacks. The players, MJ included, did play Wednesday and Thursday, though none stuck around long afterward to talk about it. Maybe they all just decided to take Friday off. Jordan decided to cancel his much-anticipated press conference, scheduled for later this week, regarding his comeback decision. Instead he says he will announce his decision by fax. Meanwhile, the league's rookie orientation sessions and league meetings, scheduled for this upcoming weekend, were postponed. Promotional games in China and Taiwan were canceled. Some NBA players no doubt knew people who were injured or killed in last Tuesday's carnage. Others will fear for their Muslim friends here in America, who now might face even more prejudice. As Hakeem Olajuwon told the Houston Chronicle, "Please, don't put us all together with them." Personally, I spent much of last week trying to get in touch with friends and former neighbors from the city where I lived for seven years until just recently. Unfortunately, a former SI colleague and another friend are among the estimated 5,000 missing in the World Trade Center attacks. Each worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, the bond firm believed to have lost some 700 of its 1,000 employees. When I think of the staggering number of lives lost -- and the pain and anguish of their families -- it's hard to believe we ever cared so much about a bunch of offseason pickup games at a Chicago gym. The silence at Jordan's Comeback Camp last Friday only seemed appropriate.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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