Day 171: The Jordanic Dynasty-Championship Week Day 3

    If there is one basketball team that UNQUESTIONABLY owned the NBA during the 1990s, the obvious answer to that category would be the Chicago Bulls.  With 6 titles in 10 years, the Bulls were without a doubt the team to (try but fail to) beat during that period of time.  But before you build a dynasty, you have to start with the first title, which the Bulls captured in triumphant fashion on June 12, 1991. The next day, the team made its way home, and the fans were there to greet them(against the official advice of the city, but since when did that count for anything?) On Friday the 14th, the team was treated to a championship parade.  But much like as happened when the Blackhawks won it in 2010, there were a number of different things going on in the city that day, as the annual Philippine Independence Day parade was slated to step off on the same day, as well as the beginning of Blues Fest in Grant Park(which was the location of the rally).  Needless to say, the Bulls stole all of the attention from the other events going on in the city that day.

     The next year saw the bulls come back and win yet another title, one that was nothing short of inevitable.  Needless to say, a parade was inevitable as well.  In 1993, the Bulls were up for a 3-peat, and while the outside aspects of the team might have led some to believe that the dream ride was over(such as bickering, occasional acrimony amongst some of the team members, and some unexpected losses) the team ultimately persevered and delivered their 3rd championship.  A few short months after that title, Michael Jordan's father was murdered.  it was this, along with some other concerns that led him to retire from basketball on the eve of the '93-'94 season at the age of 30.  The next two seasons, Jordan spent his "retirement" trying to make it in the sport of Baseball.  He didn't do so well, and came back to the Bulls at the tail end of the '94-'95 season.  The '95-96 season saw the Bulls stampede through the NBA with the best record EVER for a basketball team. The next season was another repeat, albeit one capitalized by Jordan powering through a hellish case of the flu to win one of the games in the Finals.

     Then we get to '97-'98.  All year it had been rumored that this was the last year for Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and even(gasp) Michael Jordan.  At the end of it, the Bulls were NBA Champions for the 6th time, had pulled off the 2nd 3-peat, and were at the end of the road.  At the victory rally in Grant Park(moved there because according to some conspiracy theorists the powers that be in the city didn't want the common folk milling about the Loop), Phil Jackson cryptically said that very same thing and confirmed the suspicions of fans everywhere.  In the end, the Bulls dynasty came to a crashing end in 1998, and they have not won a title since.  Who knows what the future might hold...