Movie ‘Air’ hits nothing but net
- col-aaron-dorksen
- April 12, 2023
- 1337
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
If you’re a sports fan or even just a fan of the 1980s, I fully recommend checking out the “Air” in a nearby theater soon.
I wasn’t sure what to think when I went to see “Air” (rated R) this past weekend, but I’m still smiling about it several days later.
The Ben Affleck directed movie tells the story of how Nike’s third-rate basketball shoe department altered sports and pop culture history forever in 1984 by signing an untested rookie named Michael Jordan. It had me hooked from beginning to end.
“Air” is the best sports movie you’ll see in which hardly any sports action takes place. And even rated against sports movies with lots of competitive action, it ranks well.
I’m not going to call “Air” an all-time great flick, but it will stand the test of time as an excellent movie. I’m sure many people will give it a “thumbs up” and want to rewatch it again in the years to come.
Like any good sports story, “Air” is about much more than what happened in the athletic arena, or in this case the Nike conference room. It’s a David vs. Goliath story, a lesson that if you believe in something, you should go after it.
The lasting idea is sometimes in order to get ahead, you have to take a leap of faith.
Nearly all sports fans know Michael Jordan became an NBA great — the GOAT in my opinion — and was further immortalized by wearing and marketing the “Air Jordan” basketball shoe.
Moviegoers know the ending going in, but it’s a fascinating, inspiring and sometimes funny story to learn the unlikely path Jordan took to wearing Nikes.
Scout Sonny Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon) led the way for Nike to sign Jordan by stopping at almost nothing to get his man.
In 1984 Nike led the way for running shoes and running apparel under founder Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) but was a distant third in the basketball shoes race behind Adidas and Converse.
Jordan had been drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls and was an All-American, but wasn’t a household name … yet.
Damon gives a great performance in “Air” as he sees true greatness in Jordan that no one else does except for Michael and his mother Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis).
It’s incredible what Vaccaro discovered while rewatching the tape over and over again of Jordan’s game-winning NCAA title shot for North Carolina, which helps convince him to risk his career and Nike’s basketball department on Jordan.
Vaccaro talked Knight into signing off on an unprecedented shoe deal. We also learn the story behind where the Air Jordan name, logo, and red and black design came from and meet an awesome character in shoe designer Matt Maher (Peter Moore).
Davis’ performance as Jordan’s mother is fantastic.
I considered Nike a behemoth growing up, but it’s laughable to see how rinky dink and uncool their basketball division was in 1984, which is helped by marketing director Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman).
Marlon Wayans plays coach George Raveling, and Chris Tucker provides lots of energy as Nike executive Howard White.
The movie is set in 1984 — when I was in middle school — and the music and props took me right back to that time, when MTV and rap music were just starting to explode.
One odd thing about the movie is you’ll barely see actor Damian Young portraying Jordan. That kind of bothered me until midway through it. When I realized the way Affleck was directing things, it didn’t matter.
Take a shot on “Air.” It hits nothing but net.
Baldridge, Miller make college choices
West Holmes’ Elisha Baldridge and Triway’s Zack Miller are two of the top local student-athletes in the area’s Class of 2023.
It was good news for area sports fans when they recently announced choices to stay close to home for the next four years.
Baldridge will play football and wrestle at the University of Ashland while Miller will play basketball at The College of Wooster.
“Ashland has a history of success in their football and wrestling programs,” said Baldridge, who is one of the area’s all-time leading tacklers (285 tackle points as a senior, 540 last two years) and was 111-29 with 80 pins as an All-Ohio wrestler. “(Football) coach (Doug) Geiser was great to me and (wrestling) coach (Colt) Sponseller is a West Holmes guy and came to a lot of my tournaments this year.
“It’s also close to home where my family and friends can come watch me play.”
Baldridge was an All-Ohio linebacker for West Holmes’ outstanding teams the last two years but said the coaches want to covert him to defensive end. Wherever he plays, he will be a force for the Eagles.
“It feels great to be headed to a university that values winning at a high level,” said Baldridge, who is considering going into the business or exercise science program. “I’m very appreciative that they saw something special in me and wanted to pursue me.”
Although Miller stands just 5-foot-9, he’s demonstrated he’s a big-time talent in basketball and football when healthy. If Miller can stay injury free at Wooster, he should have a great hoops career for the Scots.
“It feels amazing getting to go to Wooster,” said Miller, who averaged 18.5 ppg as a senior before suffering a knee injury and ranks sixth in the Titans’ storied history with 1,264 points. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity that God has blessed me with, and it’s an honor to get to be a part of such a great basketball community and program.”
Wooster coach Doug Cline was happy to land Miller as a top recruit.
“Wooster gives me the opportunity to get a great education, stay close to home and get to continue to play basketball,” said Miller, who plans on studying sociology and business economics and wants to become a detective one day. “I’m really looking forward to playing for coach Cline and his staff.”