“Be Like Mike”
Swen Nater

When Michael Jordan became a professional basketball player, he was an instant star. He was the kind of player young athletes looked up to. He had charisma, skill, flash, and a competitive spirit that accepted nothing but the very best from himself and from his teammates. It wasn’t long until every young basketball player wanted to “Be like Mike.”

When Nike came out with the Air Jordan basketball shoe, Foot Locker couldn’t keep them on the shelves. Young players believed the ads that, if you wear the Air Jordan, you can “Be like Mike.” Can a pair of shoes instantly make you a better player? In their hearts, I believe some of the young players believed that. 

This technological age has enabled us to do many things faster. Just thirty years ago, the only way to get a letter or document from the source to the destination was by old-fashioned mail. In the mid 1980’s the fax machine became affordable and it was an instant success. I bought one at Costco. It was amazing and saved a lot of time.

But today, the fax machine is quickly becoming obsolete as we are now able to, instantly, send documents via the internet. Even better, through e-mail, I am able to send over 100 people this blog posting. Imagine me faxing this document over 100 times.

All of this is good and useful. But, there are some things that just can’t be done more quickly. They take time. I’m particularly referring to the full development of certain skills like typing, construction, cooking, and the skills needed to play a sport well. For those things, there is no substitute for hard work and repetition. Here is what Grantland Rice, the great sports writer of the depression, had to say about this.

How to Be a Champion
Grantland Rice

You wonder how they do it.
You look to see the knack.
You watch the foot in action or the shoulder or the back.

But when you spot the answer,
Where the higher glamours lurk,
You’ll find in moving higher, up the laurel-covered spire,
That the most of it is practice,
And the rest of it is work.

Larry bird shot 1,000 jump shots a day in every off-season.
I shot 500 hook shots per day for years.

In game 6 of the 1977 World Series, Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees hit 3 consecutive home runs. The amazing thing is, he hit them off three different pitchers and off the very first pitch that they threw. But did you know, he actually hit 4 home runs in a row in that series? In game 5 and his last at bat, he hit a home run off a different pitcher and it was, again, the very first pitch he threw. If anyone knew about how to develop the baseball swing, it is Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. Here’s what he had to say.

“The baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It’s repetition, repetition, and a little more after that.”

I don’t want to disappoint young people who think, wearing the same shoes as a great athlete will make them better players, but it wasn’t the shoes that made Michael Jordan great. Listen to Charles Barkley.

“These are my new shoes. They are good shoes. They won’t make you rich like me. They won’t make you rebound like me. And they won’t make you handsome like me. What they will do is make you have shoes like me.”

So if young players want to “Be like Mike” or any other great player, tell them to save their money and start practicing. Greatness doesn’t cost a lot of money; it costs a lot of sweat. Besides, the best basketball shoe ever made was the original Adidas Superstar.