It's not the President of the United States that we're talking about, but someone who is probably at least as well known in North America -- and anyplace else in the world where the sport of basketball is played -- the athlete Michael Jordan.

A sports reporter in the Houston Chronicle newspaper wrote that Jordan could not be in a public place for longer than 30 minutes before being overrun and overwhelmed by his fans.

In the world of sport, Michael Jordan is to basketball what the Brazilian legend Pele' was to international football or Romania's Nadia Comanici was to Olympic gymnastics. He reached a level of excellence in his chosen sport that had not been seen before and that many say will never be seen again.

At a press conference Wednesday that was so crowded it had to be held in the auditorium where he played, Jordan officially announced his r

So many experts -- active and former coaches and players -- sports writers and ordinary fans consider Jordan to be the greatest basketball player ever. Outside the auditorium where his team -- the Chicago Bulls -- plays, is a statue of Jordan in an action pose. It bears the inscription: "The Best There Ever Was. The Best There Ever Will Be."

In addition to his athletic ability, Jordan has proven himself to be one of the best celebrity spokesmen in the world of television advertising. The Bulls paid Jordan an estimated $33 million last year to play basketball. It is estimated that he earned at least $42 million more just by endorsing products -- everything from batteries to men's underwear.

Jordan played a total of 13 seasons and in that time, Chicago won six league championships. He was chosen Most Valuable Player five times and won the scoring title ten times, even though at 1.98 meters tall he was one of the "smaller" players. It was Jordan's ability to leap into the air over and around his opponents, especially at critical times in a game, that brought Jordan his fame. He gained world renown as leader of the U.S. basketball team at the Olympic Games in the summer of 1992, when professionals were allowed to play for the first time.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1125
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)