How is it that my mind happened to connect these two totally different people and events? I doubt that I had ever thought about this MJ and Dr. J concurrently, except perhaps on the nights I went to see the Jacksons' Victory Tour in Philadelphia at a venue across the street from where the Philadelphia 76ers played at that time.
Perhaps the connection was that they were both "Thrillers" within the context of their respective art forms. And yes, I can use the phrase "art forms" because the Doctor's flights through the air were really "poetry in motion," much more so than the typical player's shots in the lane. The grace and beauty - and power, as well - that Dr. J played the game with led people who were casual fans or less to become his fans, and made people like me virtually addicted to seeing him. Doc would get the ball during a Sixers game - or better yet, a New York Nets game in the old ABA days - and I would be on the edge of my seat until he shot, passed, or whatever...and if that "whatever" was a dunk, there was nothing like it - except for Michael's moves and spins and moonwalks. When these guys did what they did, you never wanted to take your eyes off of them for fear of missing something absolutely magical.
Or perhaps the connection was that each of them almost singlehandedly changed their respective industries. Dr. J was the biggest star in the ABA, a league with great young talented players - such as future Hall-of-Famers David Thompson, George Gervin, and Dan Issel - but without the financial resources or media coverage of the established NBA. The NBA had the media, the tradition, Red Auerbach and the Celtics - but it didn't have the Doctor. As a result, Dr. J's presence in the ABA led to the merger of the two leagues.
Meanwhile, the music business was about to change with the proliferation of cable television. MTV came on the scene, and record companies rightly saw channels like that as providing opportunities to showcase their artists' songs - but Michael changed the industry in two ways. First, his vision of the music video was that of a story or a mini-movie as opposed to a general performance video, which changed the way artists and companies conceptualized videos. Secondly, the aforementioned MTV viewed itself as a rock-oriented channel which was not going to play other genres - but the unheard-of popularity of Michael Jackson's music, especially "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" from the "Thriller" album, forced MTV to give in...which led to Michael taking MTV to new heights and paving the way for BET and others.
But that said, I think my connection came from something else. 1987 was to be Dr. J's final season, and we knew this all along. Naturally those of us who loved watching Doc hoped the Sixers would win this one more title, or at the very least have a long run through the playoffs - so on the day I was watching the Sixers get eliminated from the playoffs, I was overcome with some real sadness, in that Dr. J would be playing no more. I shared this with another big fan of the Doctor, and he - having felt the same way that I did - attributed it to sadness over not only the departure of Dr. J, but the departure of our youth. We had grown up watching Doc, and so his retirement signaled the conclusion of our youth. And so the other day, when thinking about Michael's death, I thought of how we had grown up following and listening to and idolizing the Jackson 5, and Michael in particular.
Despite the fact that we know better, we sometimes want to think that we will live forever and/or find the proverbial "fountain of youth, " a la Ponce DeLeon. The death of Michael Jackson certainly seems to slam the final door shut on our youth - but fortunately his youth and vibrance and energy will in fact live on forever through his recordings, his videos, and our memories.
R.I.P.
No comments:
Post a Comment