The Michael Jordan Statue, Toews-ered

The Michael Jordan statue, displayed outside the executive entrance of the United Center, has been a favorite destination of tourists since it was created in 1994.

Today the statue of Jordan is adorned with a Blackhawks jersey with the name and number of Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "Jordan" is also wearing skates ... Reebok skates.

While this is, of course, a reflection of the Blackhawksmania taking over the town with the Stanley Cup Final beginning on Saturday night, the image is a little jarring.

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It's one thing to drape the Blackhawks' logo and colors over just about anything -- a bridge, a park bench, a skyscraper -- but Jordan is a person. A Zdeno Chara jersey over the statue of Larry Bird in Boston would seem just as odd.

Just last week, this writer was surprised to see so many tourists go out of their way to travel to the United Center to see the Jordan statue. Sixteen years later, the sculpture remains extremely popular.

It should be pointed out that Jordan, the city's sports icon with six NBA championship rings, has been supportive of the Blackhawks. He attended Game 3 of the Western Conference Final last week, wearing a personalized Blackhawks jersey with any mention of Reebok covered up.

Many of those tourists are bound to be confused for the next two weeks, especially since the Toews jersey is also Reebok.

Nike spokeswoman Cindy Hamilton said since the statue is not owned or branded by Nike, the shoe giant would have no comment. Jordan's business manager has been made aware of the status of his statue.

Senior Hockey Writer A.J. Perez contributed to this report.