Monday, April 13, 1998 | 9:07 a.m.
IT'S NOT EASY to discuss the Chicago Bulls without superlatives gushing from every angle.
They are America's most popular sports team.
They're revered and idolized and seen as definitely professional.
They're the guys everyone roots for once their hometown entry is eliminated from the championship run.
The Bulls are big in stature, they're huge when it comes to business and marketing and they're colossal in terms of impact on the country's sports consciousness.
Face it, they're loved, honored and respected if not obeyed. They're the Dallas Cowboys of the 1980s and the Boston Celtics and the New York Yankees of the 1960s, only without the audacity and conceit those teams periodically radiated in their respective heydays.
Of course the Bulls' rabid following is largely a reflection of the immense and widespread popularity of Michael Jordan. In all probability, they won't be the same when he retires -- be it this summer or in the next century.
But look at the number of people the Bulls are attracting every time they play, in part because they are the league's best team and in part there's a fear Jordan will retire this year and this may be something of a farewell tour.
Tonight the Bulls will play before consecutive home sellout No. 445 when they host the Indiana Pacers. That's 24,119 each and every time the doors open. (The Phoenix Suns, with 345 consecutive sellouts, have the next longest home streak, followed by New York, Houston and Seattle.)
Even more revealing is their ability to draw sold-out crowds on the road. As it is, Chicago has played in front of 264 consecutive capacity crowds around the league, with Phoenix a very distant second at 15. At Atlanta a couple of weeks ago the Bulls drew an NBA record 62,046 for their game with the Hawks, and Chicago is averaging an NBA record 22,176 on the road this season. (This will be the third consecutive season the Bulls have set a league record for average road attendance.)
One more pivotal number: Chicago is 141-9 at home since Jordan came out of his baseball-induced retirement three years ago, and if the season were to end today the Bulls would have the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. At 60-18 they've already secured the advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs and they're one game ahead of the 59-19 Utah Jazz for the best overall mark.
"It would be nice to get it," coach Phil Jackson told WGN, speaking of the home-court advantage. "But what we really want to do is maintain our momentum."
And they're rolling right now, having bounced back Saturday to defeat Orlando just one game after their 13-game winning streak was snapped in Cleveland. The victory over the Magic gave the Bulls 60 wins for the fifth time in the last eight seasons.
They're a dynamic, driven team that has already won five championships and they're the fans' favorite for a sixth. They're also the fans' favorite when it comes to merchandising and identification.
It could even be argued the '98 Bulls are not only the most popular team of the era, but the most popular in sports history.
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