About Me
What’s up, my name is Ian Benn. I started watching Mike play 22 years ago. I grew up a Michael Jordan fan, not a Chicago Bull fan. I always loved every single one of the Bulls but Mike was extra special. Even though the media said that it was a one man team, I still loved all the Bulls. I watched Mike put 69 points up on Larry Bird in Boston Garden, was amazed by the first championship and thrilled by the second and third. The difference between Mike and the other basketball players was his killer instinct and his will to win. To me, Mike’s greatest achievement was when he took defensive player of the year. How many guards can do it like Mike, none. The best basketball ever played was in 1996 when Chicago went 72-10. Then Mike thrilled me with his 5th championship and finished his career by stealing the ball from Malone and sinking the shot for his 6th championship. In 2000 when he came out of retirement, even though some said he shouldn’t, and achieved his 30,000th point. He was also the first to score 40 and 50 points at the age of 40 and added an enormous flavor to the game. Every city sold out their stadium when Mike came to their town to play. To me, it is still amazing to see him play on recordings, DVD’s and clips.
Somewhere between watching the thrills and skills, the addiction came about. I never wanted to miss a game, commercial or interview which featured MJ. The addiction started the collection. In 1989 I traveled from my home in Barbados to NYC to buy MJ basketball trading cards and in 1992 I moved to NYC to start my collection at full speed. I never looked back. Now it was my turn to hear the critics say things like “What can Jordan do for you†and “Why are you spending your money on this stuff, are you crazy?†Realizing that they couldn’t understand the addiction, I kept collecting. I’ve missed work just to fly to other cities to buy books, cards, shoes, etc. The addiction was so deep that I started to spend money on the collection and not myself. I was a poor man with an expensive habit. I’ve camped out on lines at night just to buy a pair of Air Jordan’s to add to my collection, never to be worn. I’ve lost good friends because they thought I loved my collection more than them. One time I spent all the money in my bank account just to buy another piece for my collection. The addiction was great and it still is. Since then my collection has turned into a museum and I have won 2 back to back Sneaker Battle titles. I am also featured in an upcoming DVD titled Jordan Heads and have been requested to be featured in several magazines. Now it’s my turn to silence the critics.
Just like Mike, I followed my dreams, worked very hard and put all my trust in God. My collection has turned into a museum. My museum has a basketball card gallery, which exhibits over 5000 trading cards, 1500 of them are of Jordan. The museum also has a jersey exhibit with all kinds of rare and signed jerseys. To top it off, the museum contains over 100 books and magazines from 1986 to present day with Mike on the cover. The museum also has over 150 tapes and DVD’s of MJ’s greatest games, interviews, movies, commercials and championship games. Also on exhibit is a very rare display featuring collectibles, like an unopened Wheaties box with Mike on the front, his rookie card, baby card, the wings poster, etc. The poster gallery exhibits posters of all shapes and sizes from 1986 up to present day. What would a Jordan museum be without the shoes? I’ve collected over 120 rare Air Jordan sneakers of which over 60+ pairs are signed by basketball players, singers, actors, rappers and others from many walks of life. There are hundreds of other collectible pieces on display. I’ll never stop collecting so that my museum will be a big part of history for many years to come. Michael Jordan’s legacy will live on.
