From Washington Post page D5:   (Chinese version: http://www.skyers.com.hk/skyers/jordan/jordan34-1.html)

Dear Basketball,

Its been almost 28 years since the first day we met. 28 years since I saw you int eh back of the garage. 28 years since my parents introduced us.

If someone would have told me then, what would become of us, Im not sure I would have beleived them. I barely remembered your name.


Then I started seeing you around the neighborhood and watching you on television. I used to see you with guys down at the playground. But when my older brother started paying more attention to you, I started to wonder. Maybe you were different.

We hung out a few times. THe more I got to know you, the more I liked you. And as life would have it, when I really got interested in you, when I was finally ready to get serious, you let me off of vasity. You told me I wasnt good enough.

I was crushed. I was hurt. I even cried.


THen I wasnted you more than ever. So I practiced. I hustled. I worked on my game. Passong. Dribbling. Shooting
Thinking. I ran. I did sit-ups. I did push-ups. I did pull-ups. I lifted weights. I studied you. I began to fall in love and you noticed. At least thats what Coach Smith said.

At the time, I wasnt sure exactly what was going on. But know I know. Coach Smith was teaching me how to love you, how to listen to you, how to understand you, how to respect you and how to appreciate you. Then it happened. that night, at teh louisiana Superdome, in the final seconds of the championship game against Georgetown, you found me in teh corner and we danced.

Since then, youve become so much more than jsut a ball to me. Youve become more than just a court. More than just a hoop. More than just a pair of sneakers. More than just a game.

In some respects, youve become my life, My passion, my motivation. My Inspiration.

Your my biggest fan and my harshest critic. Youre my dearest friend and my strongest ally. Your my most challenging teacher and my most endearing student. Your my ultimate teammate and my toughest competitor. Your my passport around the world and my visa into the hearts of millions.

So much has changed since the first day we met, and to a large degree, I have you tho thank. So if you havent heard me say it before, let me say it now and for the world to hear. Thank You. Thank You, Basketball. Thank you for everything.


Thank you for all the players that came before me. Thank you for all the players who went into battle with me. Thank you for the championships and the rings. Thnak you fo rthe all star games and the playoffs. thank you for teh last shot, the buzzer beaters, the hard fouls, the victories and the defeats. Thank you for amking me earn my keep. Thank you for #23. Thank you for North carolina and Chicago. Thank you fo rthe Air and the nickname. Thank you for the moves, the soul, the pride and the courage. Thanks you for the competitve spirit and the competition to challenge it. Thank you for the failures and the set backs, the blessings and the applause. Thanks you for the triangle. Thank you for baseball and the barons. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for the assistant coaches, the trainers and the physical therapists. Thank you for the announcers, teh refs, the writers, the reporters, the broadcasters, and the radio stations. Thank you for the Pistons and the Lakers, the Cavs and the Knicks, the Sixers and the Celtics. Thank you for Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, adn Utah. Thank you for the Wizards. Thanks you for the beleivers and the doubters. Thanks you for Coach Smith, Coach Loughery, Coach Albeck, Coach Collins, and Coach Jackson. thank you for the education and the experience. Thank you for teaching me the game behind, beneath, within, above and around the game...the game game. Thank you for every fan who has calle dmy name, put there hands togher fo rme and my teammates, slapped me five or patted me on teh back. Thank you for everyhtring you've ginven my family. thank you for the moon and the stars, adn last but not least, thank you Bugs and Mars.


I know Im not the only one who loves you. I know you hav eloved many and will ove many after me. But I also know what we had was unique. It was special. So as our relationshop changes yet again, as all relationships do, one thing is for sure.


I love you, Basketball. I love everything about you and I always will. My playing days in the NBA are definitely over, but our relationship will never end.

Much Love and Respect,

Michael Jordan