Michael Jordan

Album: America Town (2000)
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Songfacts®:

  • In this song, John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) offers to give up all his worldly possessions and even burn his piano if he could become Michael Jordan. Ondrasik is a huge sports fan, particularly of the Los Angeles Kings hockey team (the Five for Fighting moniker comes from a penalty doled out in hockey), but there are limits to his dedication. In this song, he pokes fun of people who don't have those boundaries, and give up too much of themselves in the worship of sports heroes.
  • Michael Jordan was retired when this song was released, but he was still the most popular athlete in America, having won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan was also the subject of a Gatorade advertising campaign featuring a jingle with the refrain "If I could be like Mike," and lyrics about dreaming of being like the superstar.

    Jordan thus made a fitting namesake for this song, as he was the subject of such adulation. He did play again, suiting up for the Washington Wizards from 2001-2003.

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