Magic & Bird: Choosing Their Paths

 While Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would become forever linked in basketball history, their paths to success were starkly different.  Magic, from the start, was a showman, and sought out the spotlight. Bird, in contrast, just wanted to play basketball, and largely shunned publicity. This difference in personality would be reflected in their choice of colleges: Magic opting for Michigan State, a program with a rich history and a large, passionate fanbase, while Bird chose Indiana State, a smaller, less-heralded school where he could focus on the game. These choices, in many ways, set the stage for their contrasting, yet ultimately intertwined, careers.