Michael Jordan might have spent most of his NBA career in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean he’s a Bears fan. The former NBA star, who now owns the Charlotte Hornets, isn’t a Panthers fan, either.
As it turns out, Jordan has decided to jump on the bandwagon of an NFC team this season, and that team is the Minnesota Vikings. It seems that former Vikings wide receiver Ahmad Rashad, who also happens to be one of Jordan’s best friends, has talked the NBA legend into hopping on the Vikings bandwagon.
“I have turned Michael Jordan into a Vikings fan,” Rashad told the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week.
According to Rashad, Jordan is such a fan now that the two men have watched pretty much every Vikings game together this season.
“He’s a Patriots fan, but in the NFC, I think he’s come around and he likes the Vikings,” Rashad said. “We watch every Sunday. He not only cheers for them, but he’s jumped on the bandwagon. Each week, he’s cheering more.”
It seems that Jordan has picked a pretty good season to start cheering for the Vikings. Thanks to the team’s win over the Lions on Thanksgiving, Minnesota is now off to a start of 9-2 or better for just the fourth time in 40 years. Not only that, but this season also happens to be the year where Rashad was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor. Jordan actually made the trip to Minnesota in Week 4 to watch Rashad’s induction.
Apparently, Jordan is such a fan now that he’ll even watch the Vikings play when Rashad’s not around. Back in September, Rashad said Jordan called him after the Vikings’ 34-17 win over the Buccaneers in Week 3.
“I wasn’t able to watch the other day, but he called me and said, ‘The Vikings killed Tampa Bay,'” Rashad told the Pioneer Press. “So we’re both rooting for the Vikings.”
Of course, Rashad has his own personal connection to the Vikings. Before being starting his career as a sports broadcaster in the 1980s, Rashad spent 10 years in the NFL, which included seven seasons in Minnesota. Thanks to his time with the Vikings, it’s been easy for Rashad to convince Jordan to start cheering for them.
“When you jump on the bandwagon, it takes you a while to become a believer, but every week (Jordan has) gotten more and more confidence,” Rashad said.
If the Vikings end up making a run to the Super Bowl, which is coincidentally being played in Minnesota, it wouldn’t be a surprise if both Rashad and Jordan end up attending the game.
Source:-.cbssports.