Columnist Tim Graham: Do we want to be just like Mike?

Tim Graham

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:12 a.m.

Tim Graham's column appears Thursday. His media notebook appears Wednesday. Reach him at tim@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

So what are we left with?

America's sporting culture lost its demigod on Wednesday when Michael Jordan soared into retirement.

The greatest athlete of all time walked away from the NBA, piles of money and throngs of followers. Now the sports world is without his charm, his dignity, his majesty.

Jordan was a consummate champion worthy of everything he got. He was one of the few athletes who truly deserved the outrageous fortune he made because his allure helped generate exponential sums for everyone around him -- and he did it with class.

He was great. He was powerful.

But now it's time for someone to step in as the heir to Air Jordan. It's time for someone else to capture our collective imagination.

Right now, that someone appears to be Mike Tyson.

Regardless of whether he should be as respected as Jordan, Tyson now is the most enormous force in sports.

"I don't think there's a single individual who's as compelling to an audience as Mike Tyson," Jay Larkin, senior vice president of Showtime Sports, said.

The cable network's pay-per-view entity, SET, has made millions televising Tyson's fights, seven of which rank among the top 10 moneymakers in history. SET is broadcasting his bout with Frans Botha Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden.

The reason Tyson succeeds Jordan as the world's most prominent athlete is just as scientific as it is societal: A positive ion is just as powerful as a negative ion.

The same holds true for icons.

"It's the alpha and the omega," Larkin said. "They attract different audiences."

And the money from one audience is as legal tender as the other.

Sports fans tuned in to Jordan because they wanted to be mystified. They watch Tyson for the same reason. Their performances can produce equally sudden gasps of wonder and horror. Either way, it's a thrill.

Not even Mark McGwire can approach Tyson's drawing power. McGwire captivated the country with his historic 70-home run season in 1998 and has earned philanthropic praise for raising child abuse awareness.

But that's obviously not enough. Neither are the deeds of Wayne Gretzky, Ken Griffey, Shaquille O'Neal, Tiger Woods or any of the other Official All-Star Cafe owners put together.

None are in Tyson's league, especially not internationally.

"Not a chance," Larkin said.

"You take Mark McGwire and Mike Tyson and dump them in an airport in Copenhagen. Where's the crowd going to go?"

Tyson is aware of his stature. Earlier this week he proclaimed he was "the king. Muhammad Ali set the stage, but there's never been a fighter as big as Mike Tyson."

But he conceded someone even bigger eventually will replace him.

"There'll be other guys," Tyson said. "Just like I came along and made Ali look like an angel, there'll be guys who'll come along and make me look like an angel."

Let's pray the pendulum swings back the other way first. Let's pray the person who supplants Tyson as the most commanding sports figure is more like the other Mike: a positive icon.