Before I write why this is one of the best articles i read for the week, my first introduction to Basketball came by way of one of the necessary items to play basketball and that is great sneakers. As a child i predominately only played football but I heard of Michael Jordan’s greatness one because of his shoes and two his ability to infiltrate popular culture which made it possible for someone like myself who didn’t know much of anything related to basketball. Now when i looked at this article I thought to myself that my first introduction of basketball was because of his shoes, is it crazy that Lebron James could do the same thing. While it is not impossible that this is occurring it may actually be happening before our eyes and we don’t realize. Since Lebron James is such a great player he will forever face comparisons to Michael Jordan. Like my earlier post the underlying theme was culture and the commodification of sneakers and cool.
Why this article is so great is because everyone loves a debate. Its even more entertaining when the debate consistently stands a firm neutral position with facts for both sides to help you make the best decision you feel but not influence you in their personal opinion. This is extremely powerful because most of the time articles already establish their biases and reflect their views upon the reader. Another reason for my appreciation of this article is to see how the times have changed as well as the era’s and how technology has made it different for athletes to permeate pop culture off the court. In 2014 Lebron has social media apps, is working on media production and just released his latest signature shoe with Nike. While Lebron has more outlets to permeate, Jordan did it with his play on the court as well as his Nike affiliation as well. But the difference that lies between Jordan & James in my opinion is their persona’s while James is more friendly and appealing while Jordan said what exactly was on his mind.
Another ideology that the author Grant Hughes uses to his advantage is the paying homage to the ones who blazed the trial before you. I enjoy this idea because it provoked the thought that in order for James to surpass Jordan, that Jordan must pass the torch to him. I don’t see that happening but i enjoyed the way he was able to throw that last thought provoking statement into the article. The criteria in which he uses to set the stage for the understanding of what is cultural impact consist of is a great range from profit,legacy,media, and charity work. Be sure to check out the article here http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2219388-could-lebron-james-ever-surpass-michael-jordans-cultural-impact
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