Gangster, $100 Million Rich in 1927, Replaced by Michael Jordan as the Biggest Thing Out of Chicago, Claimed Major Sports Voice in 1998

There have been only a handful of superstars who can be associated with something much bigger than just a team or a franchise. Be it Bill Russell in Boston, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, or Michael Jordan in Chicago, these icons were more than just basketball players for their respective cities. It takes years to build that kind of trust and some NBA legends were successful in doing so.

Chicago was perhaps always known as Al Capone’s town. That is, until the arrival of ‘His Airness’ to the Windy City. MJ did not just change the fortunes of the NBA, but he played a significant role in establishing Chicago as one of the most famous cities in the world. Whenever someone thinks of Chicago, Michael Jordan in the red Bulls jersey possibly pops up in their heads. That is the kind of impact Jordan had on the whole city.

Michael Wilbon, a former sportswriter and columnist for The Washington Post, declared MJ as the best thing to come out of Chicago. In one of his columns from 1998, he mentioned that Jordan had, “finally replaced Al Capone as our leading export. Jordan made us-and I am definitely including myself- feel better about ourselves and our city.”

Michael Jordan brought the people of Chicago together

While Chicago’s image, in a way, was tied to that of the polarizing figure of Al Capone, today many people associate the 6x NBA champion with the city the most. Capone, who had a net worth of around $100 million in 1927, was a very controversial figure. MJ gave the city multiple moments of joy and even made them feel better about themselves.

“This is a bolder, yet more tolerant place because he brought various peoples and cultures together – if only for two hours at a time – which is something segregated Chicago had always resisted“, Wilbon continued in his column.

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Jordan was a global superstar at a time when the city of Chicago desperately needed one. The Bulls became one of the most recognizable sports teams in the world because of Jordan.

The Chicago Bulls are forever etched into the NBA history books

In the NBA’s rich history, 20 teams have won the championship at least once. Out of these, only four have won more than five times. Among these four teams, only the Chicago Bulls have won all their titles during one ‘era’. That is the impact Jordan had, not only on the city but on the league as a whole.

The Bulls didn’t win a championship before MJ came along in 1984, and they haven’t won one since he left in 1999. In fact, the Bulls have reached the Conference Finals only once since Jordan’s retirement.

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There are arguably very few people around the world who can be associated with a city more than MJ with Chicago. Even 25 years after his retirement, Chicago is still considered Jordan’s city, and it’ll likely take something monumental for that to ever change.