Blessed is this profession of mine, the profession of journalist.
On Saturday I went to the Intercontinental Hotel and sat down to talk with George Hirsch.
Hirsch is 89 years old and has an encyclopedic memory, and in his day he founded the New York Marathon, the Holy Grail of marathons, and was also a television commentator.
–I was in Barcelona '92. I covered athletics for NBC. And at the Olympic Stadium I lived an unforgettable episode – she told me.
She told me that one morning that summer, very early in the morning in Montjuïc, she was having breakfast in her position, reviewing papers, when a voice that seemed familiar came to ask her: “Do you mind if I sit right here for a while? ”.
"Then I looked up and there, standing before me, talking to me, was the god of gods... Michael Jordan," Hirsch told me.
-And what happened?
–I asked him: “But what are you doing up so early?” Because it was seven thirty in the morning, and the Dream Team played at night, never at that time. And Jordan, sitting next to me, began to tell me about his life. We talked about Nike, about his exploits, he told me that he was tired, but he couldn't sleep because of the jet lag. He told me that they were filming a documentary about him in Barcelona '92, and that they had summoned him at that time. There were no camera phones in those days, but a friend took out his machine and photographed me and Jordan.
(He dives into his own cell phone: he shows me his portrait next to the god of gods).
–And do you know what happened months later? –She told me.
–¿...?
Good old Hirsch had already returned to New York. It was November. It was snowing in his city. He had turned on the television and was watching an NBA game. During a break, they aired an advertisement: they were advertising Jordan's documentary in Barcelona'92.
–Suddenly, in the middle of the announcement, my voice emerged saying: “But what are you doing up so early?” I could not believe it. It was me, it was my voice in Jordan's documentary!
-AND...?
–I put on my anorak and hat and ran to the video store, looking for the documentary. Nobody had it yet. Desperate, I talked to the people at NBC. Together, we look for the producer of the documentary. We found him and I called him. I didn't do it to ask him for money to use my voice, but to have a copy. 'I've had fifteen seconds of glory and I'd like to relive them,' I told him. The next day, a courier delivered the copy to me.
–But, you had not realized that they were filming you?
-Never. I still don't know how they recorded my voice.
Buff, reader: if one of these days Jordan comes and sits next to you, you better stay alert.
