Monday cannon fodder: The Last Dance

The Last Dance, a docu-series on Michael Jordan’s last title run with the Chicago Bulls in the 1997-98 season, aired its first two episodes last night. The series features never-before-seen footage that Jordan himself owned and, until a few years ago, had kept under-wraps.

I didn’t watch live, but I’m looking forward to watching on my DVR either today or tomorrow. From the reactions on Twitter, it seems as if I’m in for a treat. And there are eight more episodes still to come! I may end up watching live from here on out because The Last Dance turned into all the sports people on my timeline watching and commenting together, and it would be cool to be a part of that.

This morning, I was thinking about which footballing superstar, if any, could get similar traction from a documentary with brand new footage and inside information about a title or World Cup run. I’m not sure there is one. I don’t think anybody from the 80’s and 90’s in world football transcended sport and became a global icon in quite the same way as Jordan.

I think the closest the football could get is Diego Maradona — superstar, one of the greatest players of all-time, led his team to a World Cup in ‘86. A new series about Maradona with new footage and interviews would definitely have the football world aflutter. Did Maradona have Jordan-levels of fame? I don’t know. In Argentina, I bet he did. His career arc, certainly its apex, happened before I was born, so my knowledge is more limited on Maradona than on Jordan.

Would you watch Diego Maradona’s Last Dance-equivalent? Is there another footballing superstar that you think would better fit the bill?