Magic Johnson may attend Bird Museum opening

Mar. 28—Magic Johnson not only hopes to appear at the Larry Bird Museum's grand opening at the Terre Haute Convention Center, he asked to be invited to the event.

Jon Marvel, who provides regular updates on the museum's progress at the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board's monthly meetings, said Johnson was one of a number of former Bird teammates and rivals who was approached for interviews that will appear on the museum's large screen.

"He said, 'The only way I will do this is if you let me know when the grand opening will be and when Larry will be there," Marvel said, adding that Johnson was the only interviewee to make such a request.

The CIB commissioned a company out of Boston to secure the interviews and travel to the athletes' homes to conduct them. The interviews will be edited together for a 10-minute video that will be featured prominently in the museum.

A grand-opening date has not yet been announced, so while Johnson has said he'd like to attend, his appearance isn't a certainty.

"There has been trouble with some interactive elements [and] that has put us behind the 8 ball," Marvel said. "But we're in no hurry."

The initial hope was that the grand opening would occur during the NCAA's March Madness tournament to crown a college basketball champion, but Bird's schedule would not allow him to appear during that time.

Bird and Johnson formed one of basketball's most famous rivalries back in their college days, when they clashed in the 1979 college championship game.

Johnson and his team from Michigan State University triumphed over the No. 1-ranked Indiana State University Sycamores, 75-64.

The rivalry continued when both entered the NBA, when Bird became a superstar on the Boston Celtics and Johnson did the same for the Los Angeles Lakers.

They met one another in the NBA Finals three times — Bird's Celtics won in 1985, while the "Showtime" era Lakers prevailed in 1984 and 1987.

Johnson's team won five NBA crowns, while Bird's claimed three trophies. Both were league MVP three times, with Johnson winning Finals MVP honors three times to Bird's two. Both appeared in 12 All-Star games, according to The Sporting News.

After both men entered the NBA, they became close friends.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.