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05-20-2002, 07:56 PM
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
He was the last link to the dynasty, the lone remaining echo of the glory years. If nothing else, a fan could pay big money for a Bulls game, see the lights go down at the United Center and still hear the booming voice of public-address announcer Ray Clay during team introductions. No matter how lousy the basketball was, a familiar two-hour soundtrack somehow made it all soothing.
But now, even Clay is gone, apparently a victim of the same in-house political treachery that chased away Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson and virtually everyone else who made the Bulls the grandest show in sports. Last week, Clay was stunned to learn he was being dismissed after 13 years of world-famous service. He was given no official reason--''I was only told they were going in a different direction,'' he said Tuesday from his office at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he serves as director of campus recreation--yet he knows the real reason.
As you might imagine, it is a thoroughly ridiculous reason, one that reveals the Bulls' unending pettiness and dooms them to another public-relations nightmare.
Back in January, a few days before Jordan returned to Chicago for the first time as an opposing player, I called Clay and innocently asked how he would introduce MJ to the crowd. After all, they were a tag team of sorts, with Clay accentuating Jordan's legendary run via the dramatic nightly greeting: ''Frommmm NORTH CAR-O-LINA!! ...'' It made sense, I suggested, to repeat the rousing intro for the Bulls-Wizards game. Clay agreed, saying the fan in him wanted to salute Jordan with high decibels. But he realized the faithful employee in him had to obey the wishes of his bosses, who wanted Jordan introduced in the same bland monotone as other opposing players to preserve the competitive nature of an NBA regular-season game. Clay, it's important to note, couldn't have been more gracious and respectful toward Bulls management in explaining the situation.
Well, when I opined in print that Jordan deserved a better homecoming welcome, guess who got in trouble with his upper-ups? Rabble-rousing Ray, that's who. He was informed by team marketing bosses that he erred in talking to the media about a sensitive subject. Sensitive subject? Barely four months had passed since the Sept. 11 horror, and the Bulls were wigging out about something this innocuous?
''I guess I'm not the guy who was supposed to be saying it,'' Clay said. ''They told me, 'This is what we're supposed to say: We are going to announce Michael Jordan like we normally announce opposing players.' When I gave my opinion, that was Ray Clay, the fan, talking. But when you work for an organization, you are bound by rules and how they want you to talk and act.''
In the paranoid, self-censored world of the Bulls, not being a robot apparently is enough to get a man fired. A team source said management wanted to replace Clay immediately after his comments appeared but chose to wait until the offseason to blunt the impact. Here is a servant who served the organization well, did a terrific job, never caused problems and worked diligently--''Middle of the league in pay,'' he said--without complaints. But because he's an MJ fan who unwittingly violated Iron-Curtain-like protocol, he's gone. Because he dared talk to me, a longtime critic of the Jerrys, he's gone. ''When you put two and two together, that's all it could be,'' Clay said. ''I can't think of anything else I ever did wrong.''
His dismissal speaks volumes about the ongoing animosity between the Bulls and Jordan, one of the saddest soap operas in sports history. As Jerry Krause's ill-fated Organizations Win Championships Tour fades toward oblivion, Bulls management is increasingly uptight about tributes to the good old days. That's what Clay wanted to do that afternoon. ''This is Ray Clay, the fan, talking,'' he said again, for emphasis. ''Michael spent all of his wonderful years in Chicago. Everyone who got turned on to basketball in this city did so because of Michael Jordan. It turns out that might have been the last time he was introduced in Chicago. He didn't play in the second game here [March 1], and who knows if he'll be playing next year? Being a great Michael Jordan fan, that's the way I wanted him to be introduced.''
Clay's departure will damage the Bulls far worse than it will hurt Clay. I mean, who needs to introduce Fred Hoiberg when you've introduced Jordan? After the dynasty breakup, he continued to be an important ambassador to the franchise, a memory bridge to six championships. He was well-known not only in Chicago, but also throughout the country and parts of the world. Imagine walking into a hotel in Barcelona, as I did 10 years ago, and having a clerk ask about Jordan and ''the big buildup'' before Bulls games. ''Because NBC would do a picture of me during [introductions], people recognize me in a lot of places,'' he said. ''I was one of many who were lucky to be part of the Jordan mystique and owe a lot to it.'' Too bad the Bulls want nothing to do with the residue of that mystique.
While the team seeks a button-lipped replacement--how about an automaton that says, ''Yes, sir, Mr.Krause''?--Clay plans to spend more time with his family. Now he can attend school activities he was forced to miss while watching the Bulls lose to the Grizzlies and Warriors. Bitter, he is not. ''It was a great chapter in my life,'' he said. ''I'll never forget the people I was able to meet and work with.''
When he informed his children (ages 13, 12 and 10) of the news, they were upset. ''They said they weren't going to be Bulls fans anymore,'' Clay said. ''I said, 'Why? I'm still going to be a Bulls fan.' Things happen. It's fine.''
Did Krause happen to call and wish him well? Clay laughed. ''Jerry Krause doesn't even know who I am,'' he shot back, in his lone snipe.
He doesn't intend to pursue another house-mike job in town, meaning a serious set of pipes is heading into retirement. Unless, of course, he unretires like a certain icon.
''Would I work for Michael?'' Clay asked rhetorically. ''If he comes back here, definitely.''
He was the last link to the dynasty, the lone remaining echo of the glory years. If nothing else, a fan could pay big money for a Bulls game, see the lights go down at the United Center and still hear the booming voice of public-address announcer Ray Clay during team introductions. No matter how lousy the basketball was, a familiar two-hour soundtrack somehow made it all soothing.
But now, even Clay is gone, apparently a victim of the same in-house political treachery that chased away Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson and virtually everyone else who made the Bulls the grandest show in sports. Last week, Clay was stunned to learn he was being dismissed after 13 years of world-famous service. He was given no official reason--''I was only told they were going in a different direction,'' he said Tuesday from his office at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he serves as director of campus recreation--yet he knows the real reason.
As you might imagine, it is a thoroughly ridiculous reason, one that reveals the Bulls' unending pettiness and dooms them to another public-relations nightmare.
Back in January, a few days before Jordan returned to Chicago for the first time as an opposing player, I called Clay and innocently asked how he would introduce MJ to the crowd. After all, they were a tag team of sorts, with Clay accentuating Jordan's legendary run via the dramatic nightly greeting: ''Frommmm NORTH CAR-O-LINA!! ...'' It made sense, I suggested, to repeat the rousing intro for the Bulls-Wizards game. Clay agreed, saying the fan in him wanted to salute Jordan with high decibels. But he realized the faithful employee in him had to obey the wishes of his bosses, who wanted Jordan introduced in the same bland monotone as other opposing players to preserve the competitive nature of an NBA regular-season game. Clay, it's important to note, couldn't have been more gracious and respectful toward Bulls management in explaining the situation.
Well, when I opined in print that Jordan deserved a better homecoming welcome, guess who got in trouble with his upper-ups? Rabble-rousing Ray, that's who. He was informed by team marketing bosses that he erred in talking to the media about a sensitive subject. Sensitive subject? Barely four months had passed since the Sept. 11 horror, and the Bulls were wigging out about something this innocuous?
''I guess I'm not the guy who was supposed to be saying it,'' Clay said. ''They told me, 'This is what we're supposed to say: We are going to announce Michael Jordan like we normally announce opposing players.' When I gave my opinion, that was Ray Clay, the fan, talking. But when you work for an organization, you are bound by rules and how they want you to talk and act.''
In the paranoid, self-censored world of the Bulls, not being a robot apparently is enough to get a man fired. A team source said management wanted to replace Clay immediately after his comments appeared but chose to wait until the offseason to blunt the impact. Here is a servant who served the organization well, did a terrific job, never caused problems and worked diligently--''Middle of the league in pay,'' he said--without complaints. But because he's an MJ fan who unwittingly violated Iron-Curtain-like protocol, he's gone. Because he dared talk to me, a longtime critic of the Jerrys, he's gone. ''When you put two and two together, that's all it could be,'' Clay said. ''I can't think of anything else I ever did wrong.''
His dismissal speaks volumes about the ongoing animosity between the Bulls and Jordan, one of the saddest soap operas in sports history. As Jerry Krause's ill-fated Organizations Win Championships Tour fades toward oblivion, Bulls management is increasingly uptight about tributes to the good old days. That's what Clay wanted to do that afternoon. ''This is Ray Clay, the fan, talking,'' he said again, for emphasis. ''Michael spent all of his wonderful years in Chicago. Everyone who got turned on to basketball in this city did so because of Michael Jordan. It turns out that might have been the last time he was introduced in Chicago. He didn't play in the second game here [March 1], and who knows if he'll be playing next year? Being a great Michael Jordan fan, that's the way I wanted him to be introduced.''
Clay's departure will damage the Bulls far worse than it will hurt Clay. I mean, who needs to introduce Fred Hoiberg when you've introduced Jordan? After the dynasty breakup, he continued to be an important ambassador to the franchise, a memory bridge to six championships. He was well-known not only in Chicago, but also throughout the country and parts of the world. Imagine walking into a hotel in Barcelona, as I did 10 years ago, and having a clerk ask about Jordan and ''the big buildup'' before Bulls games. ''Because NBC would do a picture of me during [introductions], people recognize me in a lot of places,'' he said. ''I was one of many who were lucky to be part of the Jordan mystique and owe a lot to it.'' Too bad the Bulls want nothing to do with the residue of that mystique.
While the team seeks a button-lipped replacement--how about an automaton that says, ''Yes, sir, Mr.Krause''?--Clay plans to spend more time with his family. Now he can attend school activities he was forced to miss while watching the Bulls lose to the Grizzlies and Warriors. Bitter, he is not. ''It was a great chapter in my life,'' he said. ''I'll never forget the people I was able to meet and work with.''
When he informed his children (ages 13, 12 and 10) of the news, they were upset. ''They said they weren't going to be Bulls fans anymore,'' Clay said. ''I said, 'Why? I'm still going to be a Bulls fan.' Things happen. It's fine.''
Did Krause happen to call and wish him well? Clay laughed. ''Jerry Krause doesn't even know who I am,'' he shot back, in his lone snipe.
He doesn't intend to pursue another house-mike job in town, meaning a serious set of pipes is heading into retirement. Unless, of course, he unretires like a certain icon.
''Would I work for Michael?'' Clay asked rhetorically. ''If he comes back here, definitely.''