In 1997 Nike aired a commercial in which Michael Jordan recites his failures. He had missed more than 9,000 shots. He had lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times his team had given him the final shot, and he had missed.
Jordan did not write those words. They were written by a copywriter named Jamie Barrett. The numbers were Barrett’s estimates. Asked about the missed game-winners, Jordan said, “It sounds about right to me.”
Nike’s trade record notes that of all his commercials, Jordan was proudest of this one. The spot took “a glimpse at his humanness.”