Synopsis
In the 1978-79 NCAA Championship Game, Indiana State University, led by a white farm boy named Larry Bird, battled against Michigan State, led by a black ghetto kid named Earvin "Magic" Johnson, initiating a rivalry between the two stars which would elevate their sport into a new stratosphere of popularity. The two legends unite to discuss the highlights of their amazing careers, particularly their spectacular clashes against one another in the 1980s, when they combined to win eight NBA championships and six MVP awards. While Bird's deadly jumpshot and precision passing helped to revitalize the storied Boston Celtics franchise, Magic headed up the "Showtime" era of the Los Angeles Lakers, coordinating a high-scoring attack from the point guard position. Bird and Magic provide insider details on their championship showdowns and candidly discuss their life off the court, including Bird's tenure as coach of the Indiana Pacers and Magic's battle against the HIV virus.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2009-11-04 |
| Size | | Length: | 340 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 20.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
Two NBA legends open up as never before to give the definitive account of their decades-long rivalry and friendship, in a book that transports readers to an electric era of basketball and explores Bird's struggles with chronic pain and Johnson's discovery that he had contracted HIV.
Industry Reviews
"According to MacMullan, Johnson and Bird shared an inextinguishable competitive fervor. Both remember defeat more vividly than victory; both used the other's success as motivation. They were also savvy enough to realize that each brought out the other's best....In effect, their rivalry existed as much in their psyche -- and among fans and the media -- as on the hardwood. That doesn't diminish its importance, but capturing such an ephemeral experience is surely as difficult as registering a triple-double."
(11/06/2009)
"There aren't any major revelations in WHEN THE GAME WAS OURS. Still, greatness commands our attention....While Bird and Johnson do most of the reminiscing, [co-writer Jackie] MacMullan...supplies enough reporting to enrich the narrative, drawing on others to help illustrate what the sport has come to lack, or fake."
(12/06/2009)
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