Itwasonly 15 or 20 minutesintohisfirstinterviewwhen I wasaskinghimabout, um, I toldhimthatoneriderhadreferredtothoseearlyBullsteamsastheChicagoBullstravelingcocainecircus.
Thelaughterthatthatelicited.
I hadneverheardthatlaughoutofMichaelinallthetapethat I'vewatchedinallthedocumentaries I'veseenabouthim, eventhelimitedtimethatspentwithhimbeforethat I'd neverheardhimlaughlikethatbefore.
Andheveryeasilycouldhavebobbedandweavedthroughthatquestionandsaid, Yeah, well, thatwas a crazytimeandnotofferedanythingelse.
Andthenforhimtoturnaroundandcalmdownfromlaughingandofferusthatanecdotethathegaveusabouthisexperienceas a kidcomingfromDeanSmith's program, a ChapelHillonseeingthosethingshesawinthathotelroominPeoria.
That's gold, nomatterwhoyou'retalkingto.
Buttogetitoutofyourmaincharacterin a 10 hourdocumentaryandforthatmaincharacterto P oneofthemostsignificantfiguresand 12 cultureofmylifetime.
Um, thatwasthatwasthemomentthateverythingclicked.
And I thought, YouknowwhatthismightbeMauraabout, uh, MichaelJordan, theperson, eventheMichaelJordan, thebasketballplayertakingMichaelJordanoutofyouroptions.
Hewasalreadyhehad a coupleoffriendsaheadandheknewalltheguysinthatinthatpartoftown, andhewaskindofreminiscingwiththemandhecamein a greatmoodand I don't knowwhat I expectedoutofhim, but I certainlydidn't expectthisgregariousstorytellerthatwegotinHorace.
InterviewingSteveKerrwastremendous.
He's justsuch a thoughtful, incisive, intelligentguy.
HewasinbetweengamesinNewYork.
TheywereplayingtheNetsandtheKnickson a FridayandSunday.
SosittinginthisgorgeousbackyardinthemiddleofMontana, whichisoneofthemostbeautifulplaces I'veeverbeentalkingtoPhilJacksonaboutthehistoryoftheMBA, hishistoryinthe N B A, thoseoldnextteamsandthenhispathfromthe C B A tothethosePuertoRicanleaguesthathetalkedaboutallthewaythroughhisBullstenure.
I mean, there's somanyfascinatinginterviewshereum I grewupas a Celticsfanintheeightiesas a kid.
SoBirdwas, youknow, GodandBirdandMagicwere, youknow, Godand I wanttoseetheDevilformagic, butit's hisrival.
I grewuppretending I wasplayingagainstMagicJohnsoninmybackyard.
Sotobesittingthere, talkingtohimandaskinghimaboutthesethingsthat I experiencedas a kid, itwasItwas a thrill.
I'm really, reallyluckywhenyouhave 10 hourstotell a story.
Um, I think a lotofpeoplewouldbeshockedbythis, but I'm 100% sureit's true.