Earvin "Magic" Johnson looked out on the assembly and said: “I'm pretty okay for a 40-year old, huh…?” No one said anything. No one said anything 'cause they had been taken aback, they had tongue-tiedness. It gets that way in the closeness of class, of greatness, of genius.

A night like that in Bor�s, it was only "Magic" Johnson who was collected. Someone asked why he had chosen an "unknown hole" like Bor�s and Johnson said: “Hole? It has been written about this game in Los Angeles Times, in USA Today, I've gotten all of the articles by fax, it has been mentioned in every news broadcast on American TV, Bor�s isn't unknown anymore." Yes, holy Christ. I said in advance that I didn't believe that "Magic" would play for Bor�s before I saw it. Now I've seen it and - I don't know if I believe yet. Yes, I saw him. He was there.

He had a show that I don't understand

"Magic" Johnson is 40 years old. He got HIV. He's superannuated. This "Magic" Johnson had a show last night, a show or a very entertaining lesson how you pass the ball in basket ball, that's what I don't really get yet that he did and that I really was there to see it. I didn't understand either why "Magic"  Johnson buys himself a Swedish basketball team, like he said himself yesterday (25 October 1999), he is a businessman, he would open seven Starbuck, seventeen malls and a bunch of TGI Friday - from him it sounded like he made those deals during half time. I hear what's he's saying and - yes, sure, maybe he wants to save Swedish Basketball and make it as big as it is in Yugoslavia, Spain, Italy or Greece, but, so what? I think I cleared it out: he wants it to be for real. He's an athlete and wants to be it for as long as he can. Of course he can play exhibition matches but those aren't for real. He could have brought a European team but that would have been totally different moneys; he knows M7's coach Charles Barton and he know the players Greg Graham and Chad Austin and - he can still dominate here.

…and he took the game serious

The Bor�s Hall showed two unbearable master of ceremonies who constantly did the mistake to blurt out to the audience, "but auuuuuuuudience, c'mon now"; the audience aren't that stupid that it don't realize when something is good and besides it only took a few seconds for the enthusiasm to raise for a couple of outstanding passes by "Magic" Johnson. M7 finally beat Sall�ns with 84-60 but it was even in the first half. M7 played a little nervous, a little unaccustomed and had enormous respect for the living legend maybe more then Sall�ns. 14 assists. 14 rebounds. 14 points. 32 minutes. "Magic" Johnson in Bor�s. He took it serious. It wasn't until the game was finished that he started clown about, speak on the cell phone and/or throw those irritating passes when he looks one way and throws it the other. When everyone was waiting for Johnson I spooked to Johnsson. I had a self-willed scarf that had staid at my site and when I was about to pick it up Johnsson stood all alone at the side of the court. His friends came up from N�ssj�. He said that the game was "a really big experience". Jens Johnsson, 21. A lively, fast and disrespectful but talented young man who plays basketball on a way that reminds me of how Eminem raps. He said: “The thing is that he…well, you can take any big player you like from the NBA, you can take Michael Jordan, he would never be able to play this way, at this level, at this age but "Magic" lives on his passes…” “Kind of like Wayne Gretzky always did”, I said. “-…well, they have the feeling in their hands”, says Jens Johnsson. A split vision, player perception and hand feeling that only the big one's got.

It was a class-distinction

"Magic" said that if M7 gets out and met international resistance it'd mean a raising hardness and a raising routine and bigger skill. He said: “If it works out good for M7 it's not just good for M7, it's good for the Swedish basketball”. I wonder if he knows what he has giving himself into. He said so, but he's skilful, he's so natural as PR-man that you can't trust what he's saying, but he said he was impressed of what he saw, that it was a good and hard game between two good team who went out with a good tactic and decided to play basketball. That's what "Magic" Johnson said: But he most has seen what everyone else saw: it was a class-distinction between him and the domestic players. He also said that he would come back. He probably has to. Without the special NBA-magic Earvin Johnson still has, Swedish basketball will still struggle on mumble league. But a Jens Johnsson can soon take an “s” away from his last name in the right company.

Written by: Mats Olsson

Info: taken from the Swedish newspaper Expressen http://www.expressen.se October 26, 1999