Book Review: When The Game Was Ours

When the Game Was Ours, by Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson and Jackie MacMullan

Source: Amazon.com

From the book’s cover:

From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s — Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness — together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships, six MVP awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends.  

With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry’s obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader.  We are there the moment he learns he’s contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail.

A compelling, up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball’s most inimitable duo, When the Game Was Ours is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball’s best times.
 

The review:

I am not sure why I picked up When the Game Was Ours to read.  I admit that I like to try and keep my reading materials varied, but I am not one who follows professional sports very avidly.  On the other hand, in my youth, I had a buddy who loved the NBA.  I'd talk military aircraft and related topics - I was not yet into history as a specific subject, though I was warming up to it - and he'd talk basketball.  We were both fanatics in our fields.  Surprisingly enough, we found common ground, and our friendship held fast for a number of years.

Bird and Magic's co-author, Jackie MacMullen. / Source: sportsbusinessdaily.com

 

This was... sigh...  the early 1990s.  At the time, some of what I presumptuously consider to be some of the NBA's best players of all time were playing the game.  I recall much hub-bub about Michael Jordan, and deservedly so.  He was one of the sport's all time best players.  I also admit I was not aware of the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, nor paid much attention to the history of basketball back into the 1980s, when the Lakers and the Celtics vied for supremacy of the championship on almost a yearly basis.

And so it was a pleasant surprise to read about these two great athletes and to learn more about how they played a role in the history of the NBA that I watched when I was younger.  Granted, both were on their way out of the game when I became interested in it.  I'm old enough to remember what a BIG deal the first Olympic Dream Team was.  And both Magic and Bird were not the head-liners of that team, though as the book describes, they played a pretty important role in it, just the same.

The famous Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson Converse shoe commercial.  Even I recall seeing this ad as a kid.
 

Ok, enough on my own history in relation to the book.  When the Game Was Ours takes a thorough look at the game of basketball from the eyes of both Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, two long-time rivals for championship glory who eventually became friends after they got to know each other better.  The book includes a lot or relevant information about both players' careers, as well as the NBA itself during the time period described.  It covers their NCAA match-ups, their time playing for the Lakers and Celtics respectively, and their post-playing career work.  Magic's discovery and living with the HIV virus is also covered in some depth.

I really liked the book.  It was exciting to read about the two greats and their exploits.  I must admit, I would be even more enthusiastic to take time in this review to explain particular sections that really impressed or surprised me.  Sadly though, as I write my notes on the book, I have a whopper of a head-cold, and my brain is not in gear properly.  But needless to say, unless you are already a basketball expert, there is something here that you will find that you didn't know.  Both players, in their introductory paragraphs, mention that many people have written on the events and times that Magic and Bird were both a part of, and often the defining moments of.  However, none have written the whole story, nor often have they really been speaking from experience.  But this is the word on Bird and Johnson.  From the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Highlights from a 1982 Forum game between the Celtics and the Lakers.  There is one moment where Bird actually passes the ball between an opposing player's legs (yes, I looked at the YouTube comments and that is how it was brought to my attention...  but still!).

The one thing that stood out to me is how much the game, and our nation with it, has changed.  The book describes how the NBA was not much of a draw in the late 1970s when Bird and Magic were coming out of college and entering the league.  NCAA was huge, but still not as big as it is now.  Part of the reason the sport as a whole has become so widely popular is the rivalry of these two truly excellent players.

The workman-like quality of each man’s playing ethic is also quite impressive.  I am sure there is "coloration" of the events, being told from the personal perspectives of Bird and Johnson, but it sounds like Michael Jordan, though admittedly a fantastic basketball player, was sort of full of himself.  The book makes the point at least twice that I can recall that Jordan had no true foil to measure himself against, and so he - though great - is arguably not as impressive in his achievements as Bird and Johnson were.  After all, Sherlock Holmes needed Professor Moriarty to truly make him stretch himself as a detective.  These two needed each other in a similar fashion to be who they ended up being.

Image from the 1992 Dream Team U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball team, featuring Bird, Magic, and Michael Jordan.  These three are arguably some of the best who ever played the game. / Source: warriorsworld.net

 

Back to my reminiscing, but with a point.  I have tried to become enthusiastic about watching/following basketball in the 2000s and 2010s from time to time.  But I just can't seem to stick with it.  The salaries of some of these guys seems totally out of proportion to what they are really contributing.  The NBA, as well as the NCAA to a certain extent, seem like palaces for over-paid and thus spoiled boys in men's bodies.  To some extent, it would seem what Johnson and Bird did led to this, but if the youngsters who dream of basketball glory these days knew what Bird and Johnson did to get where they were, they might blanch at trying to follow in those big footsteps.  These guys worked their butts off to beat each other, and to be the best of the best.  Perhaps it is cynical of me, or perhaps it is the romance of youth blinding my vision of the past, but I think in our current day, we will not see many more like Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

As a almost post-script, and apologetically said, I can say that at times the book was biased toward Bird and Johnson, and against other players who are mentioned (Isaiah Thomas comes to mind here).  But it was told from their perspective, and for guys who did so much and worked so hard, it is easy to see that they'd want to write something that makes them both look good.  But, based on the provided evidence, I think a bit of bias on their part is somewhat forgivable (as I have already shown so far).  Also, for those who take note of it, there is a touch of strong language.  Some of the quotes made are... well, they are from professional athletes who are trash-talking each other.  It comes with the territory.

It is my recommendation that if you play this video, you mute the sound for the first minute or so.  I had forgotten how annoying that intro music could be.  And for whatever reason, the developers who made this game decided to go with a match up between Larry Bird and Julius "Dr. J" Erving, instead of the more obvious Magic vs. Bird.  Maybe they couldn't get the two parties to agree on the game, seeing as when it was first developed, the two players were still bitter rivals.  By the way, this video is from the Atari 7800 version of One-on-One, which was where I was first introduced to it.  It fits this post's concluding paragraph well, as me and my buddy Sean would play each other for hours at this game.
 

I'd say I recommend When the Game Was Ours to anyone who is curious about the semi-recent history of professional basketball.  The point of view is primarily on Bird and Johnson, but you get a varied view on circumstances surrounding them, including racial relations, the scare of HIV in a world that was still trying to adapt to the disease, the effects of coaching on player skill (or lack there-of), and the evolution of the game of basketball itself from the mid 1970s up through the late 2000s.  It was definitely worth reading.

Post-script: Not long after the review notes for this book were written, the friend I mentioned in the opening paragraphs passed away, still fairly young, and quite unexpectedly.  Though we drifted apart and hadn't even spoken in some years, I am greatly saddened at his loss.  Sean will be remembered a long time by me, and I am forever grateful for the influence he had upon my life, personally.  Man, you were always on my wing.  God Bless.

For more info on who this Sean person is and why he is significant to the blog's author, click the link.

Learn more about When the Game Was Ours, by Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson and Jackie MacMullan, on Amazon.com

The parting comment:

And since it's an NBA-related review, how could the parting comment not include some NBA bloopers?