I missed the shot.
From my precarious perch on the left armrest of the brown, vinyl three-legged couch in the common room of Old East dormitory in Chapel Hill, N.C., I saw the University of North Carolina inbound the ball with 32 seconds remaining, trailing Georgetown 62-61 in the 1982 NCAA tournament final. I saw the Tar Heels pass the ball around the perimeter for a few agonizing seconds. I saw UNC point guard Jimmy Black loop the ball crosscourt to Michael Jordan 17 feet from the basket. I saw Jordan calmly set his feet, cock his elbow, extend his tongue and then... well, then all I saw was the back of some dude's head.
Trouble was, the three-legged couch teetered approximately three rows back from the television. So as Jordan prepared to launch, everybody closest to the TV instinctively stood up and then each successive row dove on top of whomever obscured the view. Hardly any of us actually saw the shot that first made Michael Jordan famous.
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