Reader here, and it’s always fun to see your favourite athletes get their flowers after a successful career, right?
I have been a basketball fan for many years, since I was about ten years old, when I became a devotee of Sports Illustrated (back when it was still a magazine and actually good), and they had fantastic photos and coverage of the NBA, especially of a star who’d been in the league for just a couple of years, but was really taking off, soon-to-be Chicago Bulls icon, Michael Jordan.
Watching MJ, Scottie Pippen and the Bulls overcome the Detroit “Bad Boys,” and go on to establish their 1990s dynasty, made me a Bulls fan for life.
Of course, six championships later, Jordan and Pippen saw their numbers raised to the rafters at the United Center.
But those years after the 1998 championship, the Bulls’ last to date, were painful to watch. Just a completely barren era of sucktitude, as the once mighty Bulls floundered, and lacked direction and an real identity.
But then, something magical happened.
Chicago won the 1998 NBA Draft Lottery, and they used that pick to draft a hometown kid, that would transform the team.
The Bulls took Chicago’s own Derrick Rose out of the University of Memphis, and he went on to rack up accolades, numerous all-star selections, winning the 2009 Rookie of the Year, becoming the youngest-ever Most Valuable Player in 2011, and even though a torn ACL in 2012 put him on the shelf, he came back with a vengeance.
D-Rose teamed up with a cast of characters featuring Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Carlos Boozer, and head coach Tom Thibodeaux, and the Bulls became a contender once again, as well as a ton of fun to watch.
Unfortunately, those Bulls never won a championship, coming closest in 2011, when they lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference Final.
But Derrick Rose was always the straw that stirred the drink, and always proud of his city.
He didn’t finish his career with the Bulls, making stops with New York, Cleveland, Memphis, Minnesota and Detroit, but he was always from Chicago at heart.
For everything Jordan and Pippen accomplished, I don’t know that there’s been a player so beloved in Chicago.
He and the Windy City had a special bond, and it culminated with the Bulls retiring his iconic #1 this past Saturday, following a win over the Boston Celtics.
Beautiful.
Here’s his jersey retirement ceremony in full. It’s awesome to see how he grew from a young kid, maturing into the man he is today.
A career with ups and downs, a life that wasn’t always easy, but Derrick Rose is now and forever a Chicago icon, and his number will forever hang as a reminder of his greatness.
Congrats, D-Rose!
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