The Last Shag

The chances of you reading this solely because of the title are pretty high. However, I am here to tell you that you’re a nasty ass and this post has nothing to do with sexual intercourse…

Leaving so soon?

But in all seriousness, I have my reasons for choosing such a title and I’ll share that with you in due course…

I haven’t been much of a basketball fan, my friends would stay up into the early hours of the morning to watch games live. I didn’t understand the hype, I’ve always preferred football. Or as the Americans call it: soccer (did you say that in an American accent too? Ha!)

I was only familiar with the teams that Steph Curry or LeBron James were on. Arguably the two biggest names in the NBA currently. If I remember correctly, that would be the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and LA Lakers respectively.

It wasn’t till I caught wind of an upcoming documentary, or mini-series if you will. Of a certain NBA Hall-of-Famer… Michael Jordan. That I was introduced to a plethora of teams I wasn’t aware of: Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets. Amongst others, but the four mentioned are the teams that made a significant cameo in the documentary.

Actually… I lied, even when I was aware of its imminent arrival to Netflix. I wasn’t at all bothered. I didn’t plan on watching it if I am being honest. Boredom, gave me that subtle kick of motivation in the end.

• 

  Micheal Jordan

• 

  Michael doing what he does best

I knew of Michael Jordan… I mean who didn’t. In his prime, Michael was the biggest name in sports, some would argue the world. But, The Last Dance was the first time I’ve seen footage of the man play. So, it instantly caught my attention and piqued my interest. Having the chance to see concrete evidence that solidified the argument as to why people referred to the Michael as unplayable on his best day.

• 

  The Netflix mini-series

He made it look easy.

Okay… to explain the title. The name of the mini-series is called The Last Dance, no?

Well, get this… there is a dance, originating from the state of Carolina. The same Carolina where Micheal grew up (he was born in Brooklyn, New York) referred to as the ”shag” or the Carolina Shag.

Yes, the shag, I shit you not. Also… now hear me out here… personnel that partake in said dance are referred to as… yup you guessed it: shaggers.

I’m so immature lol

But what exactly is the CAROLINA SHAG? Well, this is a partnered dance, usually performed to “beach music”. Now, beach music is any song that has an instrumental with 100-130+ beats per minute in 4/4 time signature (whatever that means…).

So there you have it… a more than appropriate reason and explanation behind “The Last Shag” as a title choice. Pretty smart huh?

Okay, I hope you guys are satisfied with my reason… lets move on, shall we?

Back to the mini-series: The Last Dance, it shed a light on many things I wasn‘t aware of. Bearing in mind that Michael was coming to the end of his career when I was born (1996). Things such as the gambling scandal, his personality and the murder of his father. Something the media claimed was linked to his gambling issues, this in turn led to his brief retirement from basketball. And change of sport, to baseball.

Moreover, seeing how the creation of Space Jam came about was nice to see. I remember having the blockbuster on VCR. I can confidently say I’ve watched the film at least 20 times. Same goes for Tarzan, I watched these two films till the tape started coming out the cassette (my 90’s and earlier babies know what I am talking about).

People have accused Micheal of being self-absorbed and an arsehole. Most notably and recently Joe Budden on the Joe Budden Podcast.

Joe will be Joe ay? I still fuck with you Budden. You the man.

Watching the miniseries, nothing jumped out at me that gave me the impression of Michael being self- absorbed or an arsehole. The guy, as he said, just wanted to win. Sometimes to win, you can’t be “nice guy” that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a bad guy.

Furthermore, the people involved in the documentary didn’t mention Micheal being anything of the sort. They did however, mention him being difficult to work and play with at times, but they charged it to the game and his desire to win.

I believe it.

With 2 more episodes of the mini-series to come. I’m looking forward to seeing how things pan out.

What time is it? GAME TIME, WOO!

-Dez