Insider Sport’s Matchday Programme offers a personal look at what sporting moments and figures have inspired industry stakeholders. Through candid reflections, the programme delves into the stories behind the inspirations that have shaped their perspectives and fuelled their passion for sports.
In this edition, Cody Luongo, Head of Communications at Rivalry, discusses Michael Jordan’s exceptional winning mentality. Luongo points out that Jordan’s competitive drive and ability to elevate his teammates set new standards of excellence in sports, distinguishing him as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Which athlete do you think demonstrated the best winning mentality throughout their career?
There are a lot of athletes that come to mind here, but for me, it’s a toss-up between Tom Brady and Michael Jordan. Since I rewatched ‘The Last Dance’ recently on Netflix though, I’ll stick with Jordan here.
Jordan had generational talent but what really separates him from the rest was his competitive mentality and his ability to make everyone around him a better player. Especially later on in his career, he started to become a more selfless player and brought the Bulls together in a way that brought them to several championships. He’s the GOAT.
Who was your childhood sports hero and why? Which of their sporting achievements had the biggest impact on you?
Ronaldinho is definitely the player who stands out.
His dribbling and footwork were mesmerising – they didn’t call him the magician for nothing after all! You could always tell he was having fun when he played and somehow made the impossible always look so natural, which was probably my favourite part about watching him play.
To this day, Ronaldinho is still the player I try to embody on the pitch when I play in men’s leagues and am humbly reminded that I’m nowhere near as athletic as I once was. Every once in a while I can thread a no-look pass, though.
What sports tournament do you think consistently provides the biggest thrills? Which moment from this league stood out to you the most in recent memory?
The FIFA World Cup. Easy, next question.
But in all seriousness, there’s something so special about watching your national team play in a tournament of that calibre; I will actually sometimes get emotional watching the US play, even though it can be equally painful and frustrating.
The 2014 World Cup is one I always think back on, grabbing beers with the boys and catching all the games. The USA national team was playing relatively well and there were some thrilling games like our match against Ghana. Of course, it was heartbreaking to lose against Belgium in the round of 16 but it was still a great game where Tim Howard had set the record for the most saves in a World Cup match. Not to mention, the hilarious #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave hashtag tweets that were born from it, I mean come on.
If you could travel back in time to any historic sporting moment to watch it then and now, which would it be and why?
Feels impossible to choose one, but I’ll go with the most recent World Cup final between Argentina and France.
That match had me and my friends on the edge of our seats throughout the entire second half. There were some brilliant substitutions from France, which changed the whole pace of the match. Nonstop back-and-forth goals, that save from Emiliano Martínez, and the whole narrative around Messi winning combined, I think, made it one of the greatest World Cup finals to ever take place.
If you could go out for dinner with any sporting figure, current or historical, who would it be and what would you want to learn from them?
Ronaldhino or Neymar here. Both are legends of their time and just seem like genuine, down-to-earth people that you could chill and drink a few beers with.
I’d probably just ask them for some tips on how to level up my over-30 league game and their favourite steakhouse in Brazil.
For last week’s edition of the Matchday Programme, featuring Dean Akinjobi, Owner and CEO of Football Media, discussing Kobe Bryant’s extraordinary impact on sports, click here to read
