‘Air’ inspiration Sonny Vaccaro chats with Dan Roche about his courtship of Michael Jordan for Nike
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BOSTON — Basketball and movie fans alike will enjoy “Air,” the new movie detailing Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan before he was Michael Jordan. The man behind that courtship, Sonny Vaccaro, is played by Cambridge’s own Matt Damon.
The real Vaccaro was a consultant on the movie, but he wasn’t the driving force to have the story hit the big screen.
“I had no idea the movie was being made,” Vaccaro told WBZ-TV on Friday.
But Vaccaro was more than happy to chat with Damon, who gives another stellar performance in the flick.
“Obviously, Matt doesn’t look like me,” said Vaccaro, who is now 83. “He had a balloon on to make him look heavier. In 1984, I was about 240 pounds. Much better now, I’m at high school playing weight now.”
Back in 1984, Vaccaro was working in Nike’s lesser known college division. But when he was summoned to meet with the company’s decision makers to discuss which players Nike should try to sign, Vaccaro had a gut feeling about one player: Michael Jordan.
Two years earlier, as a freshman, Jordan helped lead UNC to a national championship. But there were other stars that other Nike executives wanted to go after. And no one else wanted to put all of the company’s eggs into one basket like Vaccaro.
“It wasn’t easy. It was a miracle that those guys even listened,” Vaccaro said. “[Charles] Barkley was in that class. [John] Stockton was in that class. Hell, Hakeem Olajuwon [was in that class]. It was a great class … but I think this kid is the kid.”
Vaccaro stuck with Jordan, who was the third pick in that 1984 draft, and pushed hard.
“Michael is different. The mindset inside of him that makes him competitive, it’s a natural born thing,” said Vaccaro.
After convincing Nike, it was time to convince Michael. That wasn’t easy, either.
“He called Nike ‘Nicky,'” Vaccaro recalls of his first meeting with Jordan. “He didn’t know anything about it.”
In a desperation move, Vaccaro went through Michael’s mother, Delores, who is played by Viola Davis in “Air.”
“I made a blind call. She knew that Michael met with a guy from Nike,” he said. “She was kind. Nice.”
Vaccaro got Jordan to sign with Nike, beating out ADIDAS and Converse. Nike has gone on to make billions off the Air Jordan line.
“That changed my life. Nike’s life for sure. And Michael started something that will live forever,” said Vaccaro.
As part of his consultant duties, Vaccaro went out to L.A. to meet with Damon and director/star/fellow Boston native Ben Affleck and watch them make the movie. He says there are some embellishments — but not harmful embellishments — in the movie.
Vaccaro is happy that this story is being told, and to have a place in sneaker history.
“We’ll both be dead, but they’ll know ‘Air.’ And when they talk about Air Jordan, they’ll think of Sonny Vaccaro also,” he said. “Somewhere, it will be written this guy was with Michael at the beginning.”