Former US president and noted Chicago Bulls fan Barack Obama had a slight jab at a local politician about a former rivalry with the Pistons this week.
Back in the dynasty years of the Chicago Bulls, the fan base was proud to rep the team. That’s harder to say now that the Bulls are one of the big market teams in the Eastern Conference that are notoriously dysfunctional (more up the line of the New York Knicks).
But the recent premier of the hit 10-part ABC/ESPN/Netflix documentary series spotlighting all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls title-winning team “The Last Dance” brought a lot of positive memories back for this fan base. It helped to bring back a lot of memories of what the better days for hoops fans in the Windy City were like.
The Last Dance also highlighted who some of the biggest Bulls fans are. Some very high-profile figures through multiple walks of life, including former president Barack Obama, were interviewed throughout the docuseries.
Noted Chicago sports fan @BarackObama tells a 36-year-old Philadelphia City Councilman named Isaiah Thomas: “You may not be old enough to know that Bulls fans generally don't like Isaiah Thomas."
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) October 21, 2020
Obama also made some headlines this week when he joked with a local Philadelphia City Councilman regarding the old Bulls rivalry with the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons. He apparently jabbed at a politician in Philly named Isaiah Thomas stating: “you may not be old enough to know that Bulls fans generally don’t like Isaiah Thomas”.
A man named "Isaiah Thomas" asks Barack Obama a question.
— Machine Pun Kelly 🇺🇦 (@KellyScaletta) October 21, 2020
BO: How old are you?
IT: 36.
BO: You're a remarkable man, but you might be old enough to remember: Bulls fans don't like Isiah Thomas. I want you to watch the Last Dance.
In that Tweet that appeared earlier this week, it seems like it was meant to say Isiah Thomas instead of the spelling of the current Washington Wizards backup point guard. “Zeke” Thomas was one of the most hated rivals of Jordan and those Bulls teams in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
Obama got to grow up watching all of those great Bulls dynasty teams of the 1990’s. While those Jordan-led Bulls teams are a far cry from the product we’ve seen on the court in the last three years of the rebuild, hopefully better times are ahead in the near future under the direction of a new look front office and coaching staff.
The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 22-43 under the direction of now former head coach Jim Boylen. That was good for 11th place in the final Eastern Conference standings.