The Sandman Forgot About Sharing A High Five With Michael Jordan
Photo Credit: Bill Pritchard
Talking with fans of any sport, you’ll likely hear stories of run-ins with legends. Perhaps they shared a drink with Ric Flair after a show or sat on a plane next to Sammy Sosa decades ago. It’s a memory that likely stays in the mind, something to brag about during late-night hang sessions. ECW Legend The Sandman has had plenty of late-night sessions, but his propensity to hit the bar may have robbed him of those kinds of stories.
When ESPN’s The Last Dance started airing recently, wrestling fans saw the Hardcore Icon share a high five with The Great One at Game Six of the 1998 NBA finals. It’s the type of moment you’d think someone would remember forever, but you don’t know The Sandman. Pro Wrestling Sheet caught up with the wrestler to get his thoughts on the moment, but he didn’t have anything to share. “I f*cking forgot about it. Your headline should be: The Sandman doesn’t even remember high-fiving Jordan.”
Sandman wasn’t even planning on going to the game that day but pulled off the road when he saw it advertised on a billboard. He tracked down a scalper and followed him to a hotel room. “They had computers set up. They had like 20 people in the room. I had never seen anything like this.” He bought his crew and his family tickets to the show at $175 each and ended up in a prime place to be captured for posterity.
I don’t remember that part at all, Jordan coming out of the f*cking bus and high-fiving him. I swear to God, I don’t remember it. I haven’t told anybody that story! I can’t find a person I’ve told that story to, that I high-fived Jordan, because I f*cking forgot.
The full interview states that he does remember other events of the day, including meeting Scottie Pippen and taking some pictures, but the documentary’s airing was the first time it registered to him that two sports legends had briefly touched. “To me that’s a f*cking little bit insane. We act out a sport, you know what I’m saying? All of these guys that are so real and so f*cking manly and shit. When you think about it, we’re dance artists. We’re literally f*cking dance artists. It’s ballet. It’s physical ballet. Those guys love that.”
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