Posted by: travadmin on Jan 08, 2004 – 07:42 PM
golf Walking space inside Dragons, Atlantis Resort was hard to come by last night as many came out to support Michael Jordan at the kick off party for the 3rd Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational.
With more celebrities than ever before, it seemed like one was greeted with a star-studded smile at every turn, and every last one was willing to get a picture taken or sign an autograph or two.
Barry Bonds was there, so was NFL All-Pros Brian Urlacher and Jason Taylor. NFL all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith made an appearance as well as single season rushing leader Eric Dickerson, and Jordan’s former teammate Ron Harper.
On the entertainment side, Bryant Gumbel and Marc Anthony made an appearance and was more than willing to talk to the press.
The highlight of the night though came when ‘His Airness’ himself graced the crowd in attendance. Jordan arrived in what appeared to a silk off-yellow shirt and proceeded to greet all of his guests before engaging in any activities.
The greatest NBA player of all time circled the entire establishment conversing and mingling with his guests as he went along.
As soon as he made an appearance, he was surrounded by many and it was near impossible for the average man to get a word or two or even get close to basketball legend.
At approximately 8:45 p.m., the Master of Ceremonies for the night, sportscaster Stuart Scott enlightened the crowd of the order for the first round of the Celebrity Amateur tournament being played this morning at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island and a half hour later, the prestigious guests and their entourage began to file out.
Enjoying the festive mood of the Draw Party last night, All-Pro linebacker for the Chicago Bears, Brian Urlacher said that he is enjoying his first visit to The Bahamas and he definitely plans on being back.
“The weather is supposed to be nice so I’m looking forward to a great weekend of golf,” said the three-time Pro Bowler. “I brought my wife so we are looking forward to going out and just having a good time.”
At 24 years of age, 6’4″ 254 pounder Urlacher said that there is a good chance that he would not win the golf tournament but he is just thrilled to be given the chance to compete and having a good time is most important to him.
Whilst disappointed in the season the Chicago Bears had, Urlacher said that he is optimistic toward next year and is looking forward to great things.
“We were 7-9 and we lost our coach and that was frustrating but we’re really upbeat about next year and we’re excited. We think that we are going to be good with our young quarterback Rex Grossman and we think that we are going to be solid.”
The fact that Urlacher is optimistic about Grossman is kind of interesting seeing the Grossman didn’t start a single game for the Bears last year.
Instead the Bears went with a combination of Kordell Stewart and Chris Chandler as the signal callers and for Urlacher to call Grossman’s name might give an indication of where his allegiance is and what direction the Bears might be headed in.
Speaking on the invitation by Michael Jordan, Urlacher said that he feels privileged to be invited by such a great guy.
“Mike is a great guy. I played golf with him a couple of times back in Chicago and everyone knows who Michael is,” he said. “He was an elite basketball player and I am just happy to be here.”
From the entertainment side, talk show host Bryant Gumbel is a frequent visitor to The Bahamas and he said that his primary focus is just to have fun.
“The weather is generally good and I am looking forward to it,” said Gumbel last night, who have visited The Bahamas on five or six occasions.
“It doesn’t matter how I do in the tournament, the important thing is to have a good time. Mike is a good guy and he has been very good to me over the years so anytime I can help him out, I am happy to do so,” he added.
The first round of the Celebrity Amateur tournament will begin this morning at 7:30 a.m. at the Ocean Club Golf Course. The final round will be played Friday at that same sight beginning at the same time.
The two-day classic will commence Saturday and will continue Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. each day.
By Sheldon Longley, The Nassau Guardian