After just under six hours of sleep, 5 a.m. nudges me, letting me know that it’s time to work.

It’s Friday morning.  I know that I need more rest, but that will have to come later.

It’s time to have a great morning!

Coffee, smoothie, dressed in Jordan gear and out the door.

For the next 45 minutes or so, I ride alone in the darkness over the thirty-seven and a half miles of cool asphalt, rap music filling the early morning air as I prepare mentally to get better.

I arrive at my destination and the only light that I can see anywhere around, is that which is pouring out of the large rectangular windows at B Meyer Training.

I have no idea what I’ll be doing on this day.

I never know.

For two months my workouts have been different every single time.

I love it that way.

I grab my bag, my clothes, tell myself it’s going to be a great day and enter the gym.

I’m the first one there.

I’m always, the first one there.

Sign in, morning greetings with Dave and Coach B, bag down, it’s time to work.

After 50 or so minutes of push, I’m drenched in invigorating struggle, and I know I’ve gotten better.

But on this day, I’m not done.

Coach Dave Rubin points to the elliptical and says, “Let’s go!”

I take a deep breath, wipe the hard work from my brow and begin walking in the machine’s direction.

**

Every single morning when I arrive at the gym, Dave Rubin, the guy that’s been training me, is already there.  He’s got the music going, he’s upbeat and he’s ready to help me get better.

Dave’s tough, I’m not gonna lie.  His expectations are high, but they’re coming from the right place.  He’s a HUGE Jordan fan.  Some would say that it’s merely a coincidence, but I don’t believe that.

***

I step on the machine, still not sure what I’m going to be asked to do.

30 seconds prior I had thought that my workout was complete.

Dave says, “OK, let’s get better!  I want you to go all out, as fast as you can…let’s go!”

I begin, giving it every ounce of what I have remaining.  Arms and legs pumping back and forth, up and down, in a torturous rhythmatic performance.

15 seconds in, Dave informs me, “We’re gonna go a minute.”

My mind says, YOU DON’T HAVE A MINUTE KEN!

27, 28, 29, 30

The burn begins sliding up and down my legs, as my pace slows.

“You’re slowing down!  Come on, pick it up!  You’ve got to get stronger at the end of games!  You said you wanna get under a minute in the 300 yd shuttle, let’s go!  Push!”

37…38…39…

The burn isn’t moving.  It’s set up camp on my legs, as I try to give more.

My mind says, YOU GOTTA STOP!

44…45…46…

And it burns like hot cast iron skillets have been strapped to my legs!

My mind says, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  DON’T YOU FEEL THAT!?  STOP YOU FOOL!

52…53…54…

My legs, perhaps feeling a pain they’ve never felt, are trapped…between a mind and a heart.

My mind is screaming, QUIT!  QUIT!  QUIT!

58…59…60!

My mind is weak…but my heart is strong!

“Great job! OK, now walk it out,” Coach Dave says as he gives me a fist bump and more instruction.

“Control your breathing.”

“Cheek to cheek…move those arms!”

“Give me some light shuffles.”

“OK, you’ve got 15 seconds and we’re going to do it again.”

My mind is telling me, NOOOO!

He says, “Grab a quick sip if you need it.”

I make one step towards the water and then internally say HELL NO!  I’m about to bust this machine’s ass!

I get back on the elliptical, determined to succeed!

My mind is weak, buy my heart is strong!

GIVING MY ALL!

I may never be able to jump out of the gym or keep up with the likes of the facility’s most recognizable athlete, Dwight Howard, but what I can control is my effort!

My whole goal as I prepare on this journey to play Michael Jordan, is to be the best ME, that I can be.

That’s it!  So I push!  I give my all!  I strive to be the best Kenny Eller that I can be!

When God handed out gifts, he may not have given me the natural tools to be the best basketball player, but HE gave me a lot of determination.

HE gave me heart of belief!

Great Mornings!

Much like I control my effort in those early morning workouts, I’ve learned to also control my perspective.

I awake every morning and I tell myself, it’s gonna be a great morning!  Then, it’s gonna be a great afternoon!  Then finally, it’s gonna be a great evening!

Ask me how I’m doing at anytime and I’m going to tell you, “GREAT!”

April of last year, I sent one of my many hope filled emails along this path to a gentleman who has become a friend and mentor.

Dave Hopla received my email and a couple of hours later we spoke.  Three weeks after that initial conversation, we met and shot hoops together.  Since that time, nearly every few weeks I receive a call from Mr. Hopla, checking in to see how I’m doing.

You see Dave doesn’t deal with good.  He only associates himself with Great!

That’s why he shot 98.92% during his basketball shooting clinics last year.  With over 23,000 attempts, while speaking, he made almost 99%.

It seems undoable, but it’s not.

It begins with proper perspective.

Right before we ordered our lunch some nine months ago, Dave said, “People don’t remember good movies, but a GREAT movie, they recount every line!”

He said, “No one remembers good players, but GREAT players…they’re never forgotten!”

He went on with, “So why would you ever want to be good?”

“Why would you want to have a good day, when you can have a GREAT day?” he added, “It begins with how you think!”

Since that meeting and with the help of some Hopla perspective checks, I’ve incorporated this mindset into my daily life.

I ask people every single morning, how they’re doing and I NEVER hear great, other than the handful of people I’m working with, because they’ve heard my Hopla stories.

I hear, “OK”, “I’m good”, “I’ll be better in a bit”, “Alright”, “Ehhh”, and the list of improper responses rolls out like a red carpet, except their red carpet is leading to a mediocre day and worse, a mediocre life.

Shame on them!  Shame on YOU!  Shame on ME, until a few months ago.

You’ve been given the gift of another day, so be respectful of that and make it great!

It begins with YOU!

Getting Better!

There is no doubt in my mind that I’ve gotten better!  No doubt that I’m more prepared!

And the next time the burn says hello in the greatness of morning, my heart will smile the greatest smile and triumphantly say, “LET’S GO!!”

me vs. Michael Jeffrey Jordan…the journey continues!  Thank you so very much for following along!

####

I’ve been working with Dave Rubin and Coach B Meyer for right at two months now.  I really can’t say enough great things about either of them.  I can tell you that I have thouroughly enjoyed every bit of the experience and the improvement physically has far exceeded all of my expectations.  I have just a month remaining on what was my initial commitment, but I can already tell you that the things I’ve learned there I will carry with me for life.  For more information on B Meyer Training, which I HIGHLY endorse, check out BMeyerTraining.com!

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph! 

Do you still wish for things?

I know I do.

How the Wishing Began

My first memory of wishing for anything was as a young kid, surrounded by friends and family.  The birthday song had just come to a close, flames were dancing off of the ends of the candles on the cake, and my Mom told me to make a wish and blow out the candles.

That same process happened year after year.  Each time, I’d close my eyes, wish with all I had, and then unleash a windstorm across the top of that cake.

The above described event is one probably not much different than what the majority of families do.  It’s traditional.  It’s fun!

I Still Wish

Through the years, I have come to understand that I’m not a genie in a bottle, nor is anyone in my family or grouping of friends.  That means when I open my eyes from wishing, typically what I wished for isn’t going to just appear (I say typically because, you never know ;-)).

So even though I know that most wishes take some form of work on someone’s end, I still close my eyes and make a wish each year.  The purity behind the hope that is seated in each wish across the globe is really a tradition that should be cherished.

The belief that anything is possible not only needs to stay alive, it MUST!

Michael Jordan’s Wish?

What does Michael Jordan wish for today?

Today, the day he turns 48 years old, what does the greatest basketball player to ever live, close his eyes and make a wish about? (MJ, if you wish to play me 1-on-1 in basketball, YES I can make that happen! :-D)

How many people have closed their eyes and used their wish on Michael Jeffrey Jordan?  Seriously.

How many people over the years have wished to see him play?  How many have wished that he would do this or do that on the basketball court?  How many have wished to meet him?  How many have wished to play basketball with him?  If wishes could be tallied, I’m sure the total number would be staggering!

So what does the guy who has been a part of so many people’s wish, wish for himself?

While I hope that he closes his eyes and wishes to play basketball with that guy Kenny Eller on mevsMJ.com, I really have no clue what his wish will be.

That’s the beauty of the wish though.  It can be anything the person wishing desires!

Here’s to wishing and to MJ’s Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. MICHAEL JORDAN!

I CAN’T WAIT TO PLAY YOU 1-on-1 THIS YEAR!!!

me vs. MJ…it’s GOING to HAPPEN!

####

Injury Update

I was due to go through my first rehab session yesterday, unfortunately all it ended up being was a rather large waste of time.  Due to a lack of communication between the physician’s office and the therapy office, there was a mixup in the schedule.  That means that I will go back this afternoon for my first session.

While that was a bit frustrating, overall I’m extremely upbeat about my progress of late.  If you were to see me walking, there would be almost no noticeable sign that I’ve ever been injured.  I am able to walk with no limp for the most part and sometimes I even forget I’m injured!

Walking and playing hoops are obviously two very different things, but I’m so thankful!  My hope is to FINALLY get back on the court for some free throw shooting on Saturday morning!  I can’t wait!

Thanks for the support!

You can keep up with my journey to play Michael Jordan by subscribing, following me on Twitter (@KennyEller), liking the mevsMJ.com Facebook page and watching videos on the mevsMJ.com YouTube Channel.

The Chicago Bulls were in town (Orlando/1997) and going through the pregame warm-ups prior to facing off against the Magic.  I was in my usual “TV” seat, second row, one seat from the end, closest to the goal, on the baseline.

It was a regular season game, but when the Bulls and Jordan were in town, it might as well have been the playoffs.

During my days in television, I always liked to get to the games as early as possible and watch players and their pregame routines.  A lot of players were and are very methodical in what they do as they warm up.  Really it sways to superstitious more than anything.  When certain players would come to town I could tell you then exactly what they were going to do before the game, prior to them even stepping on the court.

On this night I wouldn’t learn a new pre-game routine.  Instead, I would get a glimpse into what it takes to be great.

The Bulls were going through the line, one after the other, in the most pure pregame basketball warm-up…the layup line.  Michael Jordan would get the pass and usually never even take one dribble.  Instead he’d smoothly jog to the basket, as it only took two long strides once he caught the ball, and lay the ball in.

Ron Harper came through the line and put the ball up haphazardly and it rimmed out.  As he ran to get in line behind Jordan on the opposite side of the court, MJ’s face was scolding hot.  He seemed so bothered by his teammate’s lack of focus.

I was amazed by this.

Even I knew that making or missing a lay-up in pre-game drills wouldn’t affect the outcome of the game.

Or would it?

Now some years later, due to my line of business, I’ve had the blessing of being around and having in depth conversations with many entrepreneurs and business leaders.  The one factor that I have picked up on with the great ones is their attention to detail.  Not only are they visionaries, they also capture every aspect of each project with microscopic precision.  They understand that being excellent at all the small pieces will ensure overall greater success…or greatness.

This is exactly what Jordan was doing on that evening in Orlando.

Michael Jordan was a top tier athlete, but the NBA is filled with rare athleticism.  Michael is six feet, six inches tall, but the NBA is overflowing with men that height and taller.

Michael became the greatest because of his attention to detail.  His focus on every aspect, including pregame lay-ups.  His relentless pursuit of excellence at every small part of the big picture that is basketball.

The silhouette of MJ stretched out, flying through the air, hasn’t become a Worldwide symbol for him, brand Jordan, and greatness by accident.

Being Great is SERIOUS business!

Definition of Sick:  Affected with disease or ill health.

Being sick is about as close to great as one baseline on a basketball court is to the other.

For those who don’t know their way around the game of hoops, when it comes to a basketball court the baselines are the extremes of each end.

Last week I did the following:

Monday:  Ran 5 miles in 36 minutes and 55 seconds (new personal best)!!!

Tuesday:  Played basketball for 1.5 to 2 hrs.  Caught fire in game four and lit some players up!  (That’s a good thing ;-))

Thursday:  Played more basketball.

The Warning!

I felt a bit worn down going into each of the above, but once I got moving, I was fine.

Then this happened

I woke up Friday morning extremely congested.  You know the swollen, tired eyes.  The can’t breathe, if you didn’t have a mouth you’d suffocate kind of congested.

I took some meds, called in sick and worked from home.

Everyone is sick

Everyone around me has been sick lately.

My whole family, down to my little niece Ava, has been sick with some vicious stomach bug for the last two weeks.  It has beat down one individual and right as they are about to get their strength back, it jumps to another and crumbles their defense like a Jordan fadeaway.

The last victim has been my Dad.

I guess that’s what comes with Autumn and flu/cold season.

The Doctor (A cold or allergies??)

At 2:30pm on Friday I went up to the local Centra Care (no appointment needed) and put my name in the lottery to see if I would be called.

Ok, it doesn’t really work like that, but being there three hours definitely made it seem that way on this trip.

The doctor ran me through some tests, typical stuff, before proclaiming that it appeared to be the “common cold.”

Tangent time (a new name for the “common cold”)

On a side note, why would you call something you can’t treat “common”?

Shouldn’t it be called the “Jordan”?

Think about it.  You know it’s coming, but you can’t stop it!

When asked, I’d much prefer to tell people, “Oh, I’ve got the Jordan!”

Back to Doc

So the doctor gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, along with a, “if it’s a cold, it’s not really going to matter so much,” and I was on my way.

I had hoped that maybe he would have said it’s just allergies, but he didn’t.

Frustration and Curves

In the last couple of months I’ve done everything possible to condition myself for the Impact Basketball training.

To say I was looking forward to it would be a great understatement.

I knew when this journey began there would be curves in the road.

Curve number one came up on me like the paparazzi does Kim Kardashian.  Outta nowhere!

In life, I handle curves fairly well, if I do say so myself.

I always think that God has a plan for me and that if I’m late, due to non-normal traffic flows, or anything out of the ordinary happens, that it is God’s way of directing me.

It’s my faith.  It’s what I believe.

Lack of Faith…My Ugly Truth

I didn’t handle this setback well at all.

I acted like a faithless, 14 month old that wanted his bottle and wasn’t going to be happy until he got it.

You know in the movies where people throw things?  That’s how I felt.

I wanted to throw and smash and scream.  Didn’t do any of those, but if I didn’t mind the clean up, I probably would have.

While I still posted things to Twitter and Facebook over the weekend like, “I hope I get healed today,” my faith was walking the tightrope and somewhere it fell off.

Not gonna make it

As the minute hand of the clock continued its run like a hamster on the wheel, the reality that I would not be going to Impact Basketball training this week became more and more clear.

I even tried to go up to the court Sunday afternoon by myself and work into a sweat, to see how I would do.

At the close of that all heart event, I knew it was time to reschedule my training.

Why Being Sick is Great

I titled this post, Being Sick is Great, because this curve in the road has reminded me.

It has reminded me where my focus should be.

It has shown me that while I have grown in some areas, I may have taken a step back in others.

Being sick has put me on a path to regain my focus in my faith.

That’s why being sick has been great.

Impact Basketball (Rescheduled)

Thankfully, Matt, down at Impact Basketball was very understanding of my situation.

When I asked about a possible need to reschedule, he wrote back:

“You just tell me when you are feeling better and are able to come in, and I will make it work.  Like I said from the beginning, I like what you are doing and am looking forward to working with you!”

So with those kinds words, I am now re-scheduled for the week of November 1st through the 5th.

Again, I can’t wait!!!

A dash of perspective

My goal is to regain my health and more importantly, my focus.

My hope is that early on the morning of November 1st, I will be headed to train.

If something else comes up though, then it does.

Curves in the road merely slow me, they don’t stop me.

Me vs. MJ…the journey continues!  Thank you again for following along!

As I’ve gotten older it has become tougher and tougher to get a game going.  With age typically comes responsibility, that being a wife, kids, things to do around the house, etc.  All things that are important, but take time from activities like basketball.

Then again, maybe that’s just my experience/excuse.  I suppose if I looked hard enough, I could find a game somewhere, just not like it used to be.

Right now if I were to call five people that are in my phone, I’m not so sure more than one would be open to playing.

Usually the first person I call is my brother, if I want to shoot around.  He is the most dependable and the one least likely to injury me because he actually knows how to play:-)

Who does MJ call when he wants to shoot around?

When you’re the greatest there is at something, who do you call when you just want to play around?

Can you play around?

Or do you have to be on your game every time, because to someone it’s the chance to show up “the greatest.”

The benefit of being a “normal” guy is that I’m not abnormally gifted athletically or all that imposing from a height standpoint.  I can pretty much mesh into any group of ball players that are equally normal and have fun.  That can’t be the case for the average guy in or who played in the NBA.

The vast majority that play/played in the NBA, aside from Earl Boykins and few others, are usually a bit larger than “normal.”  They are also quite a bit more athletic than “normal.”  Oh and of course they are much much better at basketball than the “normal” player.

So what does a player with the NBA backing do? Tough to find a game that is challenging I’m sure.  I know if any guy on any NBA team came to the majority of hometown courts he would totally dominate the game.  Just a fact.

Now imagine the guy who plays with the NBA guys on the court and totally dominates them.  That was Mike Jordan.  So who plays with Michael Jeffrey Jordan?

Who plays with MJ now?

Hopefully one day soon the answer to who plays with MJ, will be Kenny Eller.

me vs. MJ.  Could it happen?

Stay tuned.

I watched, My Date with Drew, over a year ago and was amazed that this super fan of Barrymore’s could actually achieve his goal, which was to get a date with her.  The process wasn’t easy, and almost didn’t work out, but in the end it happened!  Success was achieved!

Being a HUGE Jordan fan, I thought why not see if I can get a game of 1-on-1 with the greatest basketball player to ever live.  Besides, I don’t think my wife would appreciate this blog if its goal was to get a date with, say, Natalie Portman;-)

So that’s how I came up with Me vs. MJ.

One game.  Me vs. Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Simple right?

The last time I remember playing good basketball was over 12 years ago.  Good basketball of course, on the regular guy scale.  I never played any level of pro ball, or college, or even more than one year of high school basketball (sophomore).  On any court USA I was a pretty good player back in those days.  Nothing more.

This is what I am today.

Six feet, two inches (almost), 175 pounds and nowhere close at this time to where I want to be physically for this challenge.  I’m 33 years of age and call Central Florida my home.   I spend my days working for a large financial institution.  My nights relaxing with my lovely wife, of just over two years.  I play basketball a couple of times a year.

That’s me.

That wasn’t always me though.  As I said, I am a HUGE Jordan fan.  Growing up sports was my life.  Countless hours were spent playing and studying the game of basketball and the man, Michael Jordan.  I will detail that in future blog posts.

Before entering the financial arena, I also worked for four years in sports television.  In future posts, I will tell you about my life as a fledgling, wanna-be, sports reporter and the interactions I had with Jordan back in those days.

So can you picture me?

A 6 foot almost 2 inch caucasian fellow, who once could play a decent game of roundball, and was introduced to the game of basketball by a guy from N.C. who went on to be the greatest basketball player that ever lived.

A youngster who poured his heart into the game he loved, his only teacher in those days, a man who was growing to Worldwide hoops fame.

I wanted to “Be Like Mike” and growing up, Nike and Gatorade helped me believe I could be.

Fast forward through life to where I am today.

Michael Jordan turned 47 years old in February.  In the last part of May I turned 33.

This is a dream, no doubt about it.  Though, why not dream?  There are only two outcomes that are possible for this endeavor.  As Michael once said, to paraphrase, you can’t make a shot you don’t take.

So this is my shot.  Maybe one of you will help the ball go in the hoop.  I thank you in advance.

If someone does stumble across this blog and have a connection with Michael Jordan; If someone reads this writer’s posts and wants to help; This is what you will get from me.

You will get dedication.

I begin today a journey to reclaim my physical fitness and basketball prowess, of which I will also detail going forward.  Look, I know it really doesn’t matter how good I am at the game.  I could be five times better than I was at 21 and still not be able to beat MJ in a game of one-on-one.  The goal isn’t to win though.  The goal is just to play.  I merely want to be at my best if or when the opportunity comes.   That’s it.

Mr. Jordan can pick the location.  I am prepared to fly anywhere in the United States and meet him for the game.  Heck, I’ll even bring the ball if need be.

If my shot at the one-on-one game doesn’t go in and I know every shot can’t be a game winner, then I am saving my money for Michael Jordan Senior Flight School.  The school is basically a fantasy camp for guys 34 years and older to go play basketball and mingle with Michael Jordan.

Cost is $15,000 plus airfare for the three day event.

MJ’s Flight School usually takes place in August, which means I have exactly one year before I am eligible for Jordan Camp.  It should be noted that when I turned 30 I actually wrote to the camp and asked if they would make an exception on my age if I had the money to go.   I received no response.

No hard feelings.  I took a shot and missed.  It happens.  Hopefully this time the shot will go in.

Hopefully…now you in some way understand a tad bit better from where I’m coming and where I’m going.  A kid with a dream, who as a man still maintains that dream.

The road ahead may be a curvy one, but the ride should be fun.

Me vs. MJ.

My journey begins now.  Thank you for following along.

I orginally wrote this post in December 2009, with the hope of launching me vs. MJ much sooner.  Since that time, I have begun working out (which I will detail going forward).  Rather than rewriting the whole post, I updated the dates.  I thought it was important to see where I was when this journey began.