I can’t lie; after the end of The Last Dance there was definitely a letdown. What else do we have to watch now? With live sports absent, The Last Dance was just what the doctor ordered; it was the distraction we all needed. Now what? Well, as we found out back in the 1998-1999 NBA season, it’s not so fun when the music stops…
As you know, MJ, Phil, Scottie, Dennis were all gone. What the heck will the Bulls do now? Well, one thing they did was give me a call, seriously. Of course they weren’t interested in my skills on the basketball court, although based on what that team looked like in the 1998-1999 season I may have been able to contribute. No, the call that I had went like this: Congratulations, we have reached your name on the season ticket waiting list. Of course they did. Well, I didn’t say no. Yes, I finally got Bulls season tickets. I knew everybody was gone, but come on… how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad.
First of all, it was a strike shortened season; I guess that was a silver lining for me. I didn’t have to pay for a full 41 home games. There were only 25 home games that year, of which the Bulls only won 8 games; I didn’t renew my tickets. I couldn’t tell you one good memory from that year, even though I was at almost every one of those games. I do have one specific memory from that year that sticks out. Besides how bad we were, the one thing I remember was how empty the United Center was. We had seats way up in the 300 level; it was empty. The reason I went to almost every game was because I couldn’t even give these tickets away. Do you remember who was on that team?
Besides the guys that did return from The Last Dance, Randy Brown, Ron Harper, Dickey Simpkins, Bill Wennington, and of course, Toni Kukoc, who else you got? Name me one other player from that season. Maybe you remember the prized free agent acquisition? Yeah, ok, so people have heard of Brent Barry. Next? Maybe if you’re die hard you remember our draft pick that year? Corey Benjamin was the next big thing you know. I’m not going to bother mentioning anybody else, because even the most die hard Bulls fans would struggle to remember Keith Booth. It was the start of a pathetic 6 year stretch of Bulls basketball.
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I joke of course. Tim Floyd… the golden boy was the leader in that first tremendous year. Why Iowa State? Why did the Bulls double down on that years later hiring Fred Hoiberg? It worked out just about as well. Bill Berry took over 3.5 years later; who? Then Bill Cartwright whose coaching was about as good as his shot was fundamental. Heck, Pete Myers even took over for a second before Scott Skiles was finally hired; he was decent. But hey, I’m sure we can replace Phil… eventually.
Yes, there have been some really good Bulls teams since then, but at the end of the day, the quest for 7 continues. Besides the year Rose got injured, our best chance at 7 may have been that season that followed The Last Dance… if everybody had been brought back. Although the end of The Last Dance brought a little closure to me, hearing how the guys got back together after the season and performing that ritual, the only way I can move past what happened after The Last Dance is seeing that 7th banner raised in the UC. Thankfully I haven’t been holding my breath…
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