President Barack Obama made a Crying Jordan joke. It happened on Tuesday at the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, where Obama described Michael Jordan as "more than just a logo, more than just an internet meme."
"When he was five years old, Michael Jordan nearly cut off his big toe with an axe," Obama said. "Back then, his handles needed a little work. But think, if things had gone differently, Air Jordans might never have taken flight. I mean, you don't want to buy a shoe with, like, one toe missing. We may never have seen him switch hands in mid-air against the Lakers or drop 63 in the Garden or gut it out in the "Flu Game" or hit 'The Shot" three different times -- over Georgetown, over [Craig] Ehlo, over [Bryon] Russell. We might not have seen him take on Larry Bird in H-O-R-S-E or lift up the sport globally, along with the Dream Team.
"Yet M.J. is still more than those moments, more than just the best player on the two greatest teams of all-time -- the Dream Team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls," he continued. "He is more than just a logo, more than just an internet meme. He's more than just a charitable donor or a business owner committed to diversity. There is a reason you call somebody 'the Michael Jordan of' -- the Michael Jordan of neurosurgery or the Michael Jordan of rabbis or the Michael Jordan of outrigger canoeing. They know what you're talking about. Because Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of greatness. He is the definition of somebody so good at what they do that everybody recognizes it. That's pretty rare."
Here's the whole speech:
Here's Jordan accepting his medal:
And here is an emotional Jordan:
In all seriousness, this was a perfect speech from the President, and it must have been one of the most meaningful moments in Jordan's life. At the end of the entire presentation, Obama, a Bulls fan, said that every person on the stage had "touched me in a very powerful, personal way."
It was an emotional time for everybody, not just the greatest basketball player of all-time.
