The Utah Jazz will stop selling Michael Jordan ‘Jumpman’ shirt after backlash from fans.
Now, however, it appears that the Jazz are walking back that decision amid complaints from fans, per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Michael Jordan and his Bulls dropped off the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in both 1997 and 1998. Both series were won in six games. The two series featured some of the most iconic moments of Jordan’s entire career. First, in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals with the series tied at 2-2, Jordan put together his famous “Flu Game,” scoring 38 points and leading the Bulls to victory despite being under the weather.
It seems that the Utah Jazz are a bit tone-deaf about their franchise’s history with the great Michael Jordan. Although Jordan victimized Utah on multiple occasions during the tail-end of his Chicago Bulls career, that still didn’t stop the Jazz from selling t-shirts that featured both their logo and Jordan’s iconic Nike “Jumpman” logo in their team store.
This just goes to show some wounds are deep enough that not even time can heal them, especially when it comes to those involving heartbreaking losses on the court.
While the shirt is a standard design from the Jordan brand, available for every NBA team, it didn’t sit well with the Salt Lake City crowd. The fan reaction was so negative that the Jazz decided to remove the merchandise from their shelves, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune. It just goes to show that some wounds run so deep that not even the passage of time can heal them, especially when they’re related to heartbreaking losses on the basketball court.
The unforgettable image of Jordan sinking the game-winning shot in 1998 and his legendary “Flu Game” continue to haunt Jazz fans. These memories were further etched into their minds when “The Last Dance” docuseries was released a few years ago. This is why many of them were quite upset to see the team’s name beneath Jordan’s iconic “Jumpman” logo.