.The cross-pollination of Oakley and Gatorade, Jannard and Schmidt, is a reflection of Jordan's power outside the game, just as his shaping of the Bulls reflects it within.He becomes the first No. 1 who started as an athlete before veering into business and media. Previous No. 1s-Laurence Tisch (1990), David Stern (1991), Phil Knight (1992), Ted Turner (1993), Rupert Murdoch (1994 and 1995) and Dick Ebersol (1996)-started in business, law and media before veering into sports. In 1997 we learned that Turner wouldn't mind veering into a boxing ring with Murdoch, Knight leads with his chin on labor issues and Stern and Ebersol are running a three-legged race deep in clover. All No. 1s (save Tisch, who is retired) levitate ubiquitously over the high-flying entertainment-media-sports industry.Among No. 1s, Knight, Turner and Murdoch are billionaires (and Stern and Ebersol make billion-dollar deals). Jordan is not No. 1 because he has a chance to become the world's first athlete-billionaire, but because he has the requisite drive and brains. It has been a breathtaking ride up for Jordan, the grandson of a sharecropper who couldn't afford a bicycle until he was 16. Signs are promising he can book hang time in the nether world of moguls.His place in popular culture continues to ascend. Two global celebrities-Princess Diana and Mother Teresa-died in 1997. That leaves Fidel, Mandela, Ali and Michael on a short list of those who need only one name for instant recognition.When Jordan accompanied the Bulls to the McDonald's Championship in Paris in October, his full-length photo ran on the front page of the newspaper France-Soir with a headline: "The Idol of Young People Is in Paris.'' The story began: "Michael Jordan is in Paris. That's better than the Pope. It's God in person.'' At the same time, a Paris department store displayed a white Michael Jordan mannequin, indicative of a basic truth: Jordan hype is as phenomenal as the reality.He agrees."...
