ESPN’s documentary ‘The Announcement’ didn’t have too many revelations, but was a bittersweet trip down memory road if you were any kind of Magic Johnson fan.    So how big of a Magic Johnson fan am I?  Well for the uninitiated…

After Michael Jackson, Magic was easily my second biggest childhood idol, and my favorite athlete by far.  The first A I ever received in school was a book report about Magic, pro hoops was the sport my hometown didn’t have so like most black kids I gravitated toward the Lakers (and the lifelong bond was born).  The most infamous childhood photo that hasn’t seen the light of day is me cheesing wearing a varsity jacket style Magic Johnson sweater I got for Christmas while holding my new Light Gun to play ‘Duck Hunt’ on.  Simply stated, Magic was my guy.

So rewatching the press conference where he made his HIV positive announcement was chilling.  I do remember without shame I was one of those who cried my eyes out that day.  It’s hard to properly explain now that double whammy feeling: 1) my favorite athlete was retiring in his prime and 2) we were certain he was going to be dead in a couple of years.  That’s the part we all lived through.  Hearing Magic talk about how he doesn’t think he would have carried on if Cookie would have left him (I can’t imagine the personal stress of not knowing if you’ve also given your wife and unborn child this deadly disease) was nearly as heartbreaking.  As we all know now, she and their son came back negative. Magic became the face of the AIDS education movement, and with his business endeavors, became the lifetime unofficial mayor of L.A. for life.

To the best of my knowledge, no one in my regular social circles is HIV positive. I can only confirm I get tested annually and in spite of my most trifling efforts in my younger days, I remain HIV negative.  In terms of meeting the man himself, that was understandably memorable for me.  Me and Magic worked out at the same gym for a few years, so we did the head nod everyday for months before I finally manned up and introduced myself.  And I couldn’t front, I told the truth, “Magic, you were one of my idols growing up, and it just means the world to me to shake your hand.”  Yeah I simped out completely, but he gave me a firm shake and said, “Thanks, that means a lot.”  And the rest of the day I had a smile on my face like a 5 year old kid and had this playing in my head:

On a serious note Magic, if you’re reading this, thank you for EVERYTHING.  You continue to make us proud!