Kieran Shannon: The summer of 1984 changed sport forever

Michael Jordan’s shoe deal was only one of numerous events that made the summer of ’84 a watershed in the commerce of sport.

USA basketball player Michael Jordan during a 1984 Olympic Games match against Spain. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

Sport, as a writer once observed, is unscripted, unchoreographed, played out in real time. Its plot points, “the great pivotal moments that echo for decades”, can transpire at any time.

But sometimes a heap of them come along at once. In the one year. Or even the one summer. Like the one we had 40 years ago.