Michael Jordan may have been long-retired from basketball but he’s stayed relevant thanks to the infamous “Crying Jordan” meme, which involves an image of Michael’s tear-streaked face being used as a way to comically react to someone who have suffered misfortune. However, the basketball legend brought the meme full circle when he referenced it in glorious fashion during Kobe Bryant’s memorial.
The GOAT team unpack Kobe Bryant’s life and complicated past on It’s Been A Big Day For… below:
Thousands of fans paid tribute to the late NBA star at the Kobe Bryant memorial event held at Los Angeles’ Staples’ Center, the home venue to the basketball legend’s team, the LA Lakers. Several people who were close to Kobe spoke and or performed at the event, including his wife Vanessa Bryant, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Shaquille O’Neal.
When Michael Jordan, crying and clearly emotional, took to the stage after Vanessa Bryant, he delivered a great speech and brought a moment of unexpected comic relief to the event.
After talking about how close he was to Kobe and the attitude the late NBA star brought to the court, Michael unexpectedly dropped a self-deprecating joke about the “Crying Jordan” meme mid-way through his speech, saying:
“I’ll have to look at another crying meme for the next… I told my wife I didn’t wasn’t going to [cry] because I didn’t want to see that for the next three to for years. That is what Kobe Bryant does to me!”
It’s known that MJ knows all about this “Michael Jordan crying meme” and actually finds it quite hilarious, which is pretty uncharacteristic given how notoriously litigious he is when it comes to his brand.
For him to not only reference the meme but to do so at something as important to him as Kobe Bryant’s memorial is huge as it gave everyone a much-needed moment of levity while taking complete ownership of the meme. In just one joke, Michael Jordan turned what was a comical reactionary meme into something sincere.
Kobe Bryant’s memorial event was always going to be emotional but Michael Jordan proved once and for all that laughter is the best medicine to help everyone move forward.
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