THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
This is Shaquille O'Neal's season now, what's left of it.
His dunks. His doubts. His misadventures at the free-throw line. His scowls. His smiles.
Everything about Shaq is imagined to be of greater significance now that Michael Jordan has been removed from our lives again.
Jordan made pro basketball seem like more than a mere game.
For a fragment of the regular season and two rounds of the playoffs, he took us on an improbable journey. He convinced us to care about something that didn't seem very important before his return.
At the end, some complained of Jordan burnout brought on by overexposure. Even so, the series between the Magic and Bulls pulled humongous TV ratings. It didn't seem to matter that neither Jordan nor O'Neal played particularly well every game, or at the same time.
Air Jordan gets most credit for creating the interest. It's up to Shaq to see how many people stay tuned.
Now, only in the virtual reality of the TV commercial can Jordan still go head-to-head with Shaq. Maybe this counts for something with the short-attention-span generation.
Shaq, after all, is the Air Apparent, so ordained by young fans and Madison Avenue.
Better than any other sport, pro basketball knows how to market its jerks as heroes. But O'Neal seems as close to genuine as anyone who is filtered through the NBA's star-making machinery.
At his best, Shaq gambols about like a large puppy that has yet to grow into his enormous paws.
Those huge hands squeezed out many an errant free throw against Chicago. And yet, remarkably, none of O'Neal's misses hurt the Magic.
In the next round, against the Pacers or, more likely, the Knicks, Orlando may not be so lucky. Still to be determined, too, is what Shaq can do at the end of the game.
Fourth quarters are what separate the legends from the sneaker and soft-drink salesmen.
In ultimate defeat, a leg-weary Jordan put his reputation on the line down the stretch.
In the same situations, O'Neal appears content to play the decoy. While the action swirls around him, he sets picks as if he were Luc Longley or Will Perdue.
There have been few Shaq Attacks in the late going this postseason. But even when he is nothing more than a poser, the camera loves O'Neal. As long as the Magic survive, he remains the focal point.
This may force some attitude readjustment for fans more comfortable with Jordan.
For many members of the older generation (in the NBA audience, this means anybody over 35) Shaq is something of an acquired taste.
Maybe the next few games will change opinions. If not, Shaq still has his endorsements and marketable smile. The MTV crowd won't desert him. He has nothing to lose, including a reputation as a big winner.
The sum and substance of professional sports in the late 20th century was explained by O'Neal a couple days before he met Jordan in the first playoff game.
``I'll enjoy being on the same court with him,'' Shaq said. ``He gets publicity, I get publicity. There's enough marketing to go around for everybody.''
But, alas, for Jordan, not enough games. by CNB