The Kings of the 90's (...and the two-decade legacy)

The 1990's was the decade when sports went from being big business to huge business. Population and media growth made contemporary superstars seem like giants compared to Mickey Mantle. Bigger was in fashion, and flashier was in style. signature moves were as common, deadly and trusty as 'The Million Dollar Dream" or the 'DDT.' Michael Jordan's fadeaway used to be one of those moves. He would turn his back to the basket and you'd scream at the television "he goes right, they got him there, he goes left, he's got to make an amazing shot!" You've momentarily forgotten that it's Michael Jordan and he can make either play with style and ease, and that you'll know the shot's in before he's done shooting it. Something like a Ken Griffey Junior swing or a Roy Jones left hook.



Michael's athletic dominance came in the decade before, the high-flying 1980's. His league dominance was certainly a 1990's thing. The six championships he won were the punctuation on the ideal 1990's superstar career. Ken Griffey Junior, Major League Baseball's premier player was supposed to have his league dominance in the 2000's or the "aughts" as I like to call them. His trade to the Cincinnati Reds in 1999 was supposed to be the beginning. Roy Jones, likely the 1990's pound-for-pound boxing champion was supposed to dominate the sport by ruling several weight divisions at once. He beat John Ruiz in 2003 to scare everyone into thinking that might happen. There was talk that he might go back down in weight to meet Felix Trinidad. Imagine a fighter aspiring to whup the heavyweight champion and the welterweight champion in one year.



Then, some funny things happened. Griffey, having never had problems with injuries, and having never done much real strength training to prevent injuries, got a whole bunch of injuries. Jones, who'd never been anything but stellar in the ring began to fight poorly, like he was fighting against himself in his prime, and ultimately began to lose disgracefully. Although we liked the 1990's so much, the following decade was about forgetting the 1990's. You were told that Wu-Tang was dead, that baggy clothes were out of style, and all of your friends told you to give up the Ken Griffey and Roy Jones obsession. "JORDAN'S RETIRED TOO!" they write at the bottom of those mocking e-mails.

Because of all of the grouping and bundling, many don't remember the primes of either athlete because Jordan's two-decade legacy of athletic and then sport dominance is to date, unmatched. It's funny to think of a time when sports becomes so esoteric that athletes plan their legacy. It's evident that Alex Rodriguez does, it's obvious that boxers are allowed to, to some extent. In planning their own, Griffey and Jones stumbled hard. They were though, among the flashiest in style of their era. Griffey's picture-perfect swing became his personal endorsement logo, and he became the major's most special talent. He was a five-tool player who seemed to do something dazzling every game. Roy Jones was even more dazzling. Any of the punches he threw could knock you out, and that's if you could see them, or him. That's because his foot and hand speed was unlike many had ever seen. Along with Deion Sanders of football and baseball fame, this trio was the one that skill-freaks swore by.



All of it has made me a really skeptical adult sports fan. Even knowing that Griffey and Jones are hall-of-famers, legends and icons, I see athletes today who have overwhelming skill and I'm skeptical. I know that it takes much more than a good first step or a ninety-eight mile-per hour fastball to win your team championships. In 2010, it takes much more than a grand plan. I'd hope that Lebron James keeps the careers of Roy Jones and Ken Griffey Junior in his thoughts.