Kornacki: Michigan Ecstatic as First Jumpman Squad
8/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 2, 2016
• Visit GoBlueHailMichigan.com for more on Nike and Jumpman
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Having Michael Jordan join them as an honorary captain for the Sept. 3 season opener against Hawaii at Michigan Stadium is going to be special for all of the Wolverines.
However, it will resonate a little deeper for junior tight end Ian Bunting, whose late father, Stephen, worked for the Chicago Bulls during Jordan's run of six NBA championships.
"I love this," said Bunting. "My dad was a team doctor for the Bulls when Jordan was playing and knew him pretty well. So, I grew up loving Michael Jordan, and he's one of my idols. I'm sure a lot of people from my generation idolized Michael Jordan, and that's such a cool thing that we've got him coming.
"I was born in '96 and didn't really watch him when he played but watching the reruns and knowing him from the stuff my dad would tell me about him, makes it really cool."
Bunting and his teammates also are excited about teaming up with "MJ" in another way.
The Jordan Brand and Jumpman apparel will be worn by the football team this season as part of the University of Michigan's return to Nike, which launched Monday (Aug. 1). Wolverine Nike gear and items can be purchased exclusively at the M Den and www.mden.com. The highly anticipated Jordan Brand football jersey and Jordan Trainer One shoe will become available Saturday (Aug. 6).
What's it like to have Jordan, who won five NBA MVP awards, as a part of the program?
"That's crazy," said senior tight end Jake Butt. "I mean he's the greatest to ever play the game. So hopefully, we'll get to talk to him and pick his brain on some things. It's great. This is where Michigan should be, and people are used to Michigan being at the top.
"Bringing a top guy like Michael Jordan here fits the mold."
Senior receiver Amara Darboh felt a connection to Jordan because one of Jordan's Bulls teammates, Bobby Hansen, came from Darboh's high school, Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines, Iowa.
"I'm a big Jordan fan," said Darboh. "I'm a Bulls fan. So, I'm very excited for that and all. The competitive nature that Jordan has always has been on my mind, and as a team we are going to try to impress him and get a good win against Hawaii and represent Jordan well. I hope he stays for the whole game and gets to celebrate (singing) 'The Victors' with us afterward. That would be cool.
"I haven't seen the Jumpman stuff we're going to wear yet, but it's going to be exciting."
The association between the Wolverines and Jordan, 53, began with the NBA legend placing a call last summer to Harbaugh, 52, who was quarterbacking the Chicago Bears in the late 1980s when Jordan was beginning his legacy with the Bulls. Jordan was the NBA Finals MVP in each of the team's championship seasons: 1991-93 and 1996-98.
"My phone rang, and it was a number I didn't know," Harbaugh told reporters at the time. "I said, 'Hello,' but I didn't catch the whole name. You know how sometimes a cell phone cuts out? I got part of it and said, 'Excuse me, the phone cut out, who is this? And he said, 'This is Michael Jordan.'
"I said, 'Come on, come on. Who is this really?' He said, 'This is Michael Jordan.' I said, 'The real Michael Jordan?' That's kind of how it went."
Harbaugh later added, "(My wife) Sarah was very, very impressed that Michael Jordan called me. (Wearing the Jordan Brand) is going to be awesome."
Jordan, last summer, announced the business partnership with a short video on Twitter, saying, "I want to welcome my first football team to the Jordan family: Go Blue."
Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets, and the Jordan Brand and Jumpman, inspired by the logo of him soaring with a ball in hand, is an entrepreneurial endeavor.
Grant Perry, a sophomore receiver from Bloomfield Hills (Michigan) Brother Rice, said, "This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's 'MJ' and everybody looks up to him and knows he's one of the best, if not the best."
Maurice Ways, a junior receiver from Detroit Country Day, added, "That's going to be a dream come true for me. Kobe's (Bryant) my Michael Jordan, but having an opportunity to meet Michael Jordan and shake his hand after he talks to the team is an experience I'm looking forward to. It's going to be fun."
Nike will supply all 31 Wolverine athletic teams with uniforms, footwear, apparel and equipment. In addition, Michigan and Nike will collaborate throughout the multi-year agreement on innovation initiatives in sports technology, design and best practices. The Wolverine basketball teams also will wear the Jumpman line, while Michigan becomes the first college football team to do so.
"It's pretty iconic," said cornerback Jourdan Lewis. "We get a chance to do something no other football team can say they've done, and for us to be the first will make our profile even bigger.
"It's a blessing to be part of something like this and the culture shift that we feel. It's amazing."
