We created a 64-topic bracket only for you to vote for Michael Jordan for 3 weeks

Folks, we spent a lot of time on this Great Debates bracket. Did anyone ask for a bracket of 64 different regularly debated topics? No. Do we at Deadspin get paid to produce content? According to my direct deposit alerts, yes. Of course, no one wants to hear complaints about sports writing, but it’s a little disheartening that what put that together for you all to vote for Michael Jordan for three weeks.

We were fairly sure that Jordan vs. LeBron would be making a 1985 Chicago Bears’ postseason run through our tournament. Not even Tupac and Biggie stood a chance against the topic that gets strangers irrationally upset at Nick Wright.

To add a little bonus to Deadspin’s March Madness, we decided to let the people do what they do best besides consume natural resources. We put out a poll to let people actually engage in the Jordan vs. Lebron debate. Two days later it closed, and the result was a landslide victory for Jordan.

He got nearly 80 percent of the vote. Of course, the greatest sneaker salesman that the world has ever known still has some cache, but he received nearly 80 percent of the vote. The Last Dance aired three years ago. James broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record in February. The Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll. They had sole possession of the ninth seed on March 6 and are peaking at the right, moving up in the standings before the season closes.

Recency bias comes for everyone except Jordan. It’s why Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, and Jason Bateman are in a movie about how the Air Jordan brand originated. The man is too famous for a biopic — although Fox Family Channel made an effort at it in 1999.

Jordan is the king, but really by this much? Is a hot dog a sandwich, Whitney Houston vs. Mariah Carey... none of that even compares? The meaning of life got ousted in the first round. I guess March Madness isn’t a time for existential pondering.

Welp, there’s no use fighting it. Michael Jordan pretty much drove all interest in our Great Debates Tournament. So thank you No. 23, for still being relevant enough for sports media to wring content out of your memory for the last quarter century.

Also, a sincere thank you to those who participated in the poll and all who consume the content that we produce. If anything here has made you laugh, think, or maybe even feel sadness, we appreciate you taking time out of your day to meditate with our words. Even the bots.

For those who would like to take a look back at the entire Great Debates field and how the voting went round by round, check the links below:

First Round

Second Round

Sweet 16

Elite Eight

Final Four

Championship