The aesthetics of the changing rooms How one of the most sacred and intimate places in sport has changed over time
In "The Last Dance" we had the opportunity to notice numerous aesthetic details of MJ - from glasses to hats, from his machines to the most disparate outfits - but also, more generally, from the NBA of the time: one of the aspects what struck us most was to note that from an ''architectural'' point of view the League did not give particular importance to one of the most popular environments for athletes: the locker room.
In fact, in the scenes in which Jordan and the Bulls are inside the various ''locker rooms'' you can easily see the qualitative difference between the bare and soulless environments of the past compared to the hyper-equipped ones of today that remember more privé of a disco, with large spaces where comfortable armchairs and giant screens have been placed. We are talking about environments that guard the secrets of teams and entire seasons and which until a few years ago were synonymous with intimacy and whose primary use was to change and, at best, to talk about pre-game tactics.
The transformation of the changing room from a simple ''room'' to a ''community place'' is a process wanted by the clubs to make sure that the players can spend as much time together as possible, just to promote that series of activities that are in fact called team building . In the locker rooms of stadiums and palaces all over the world the goal is to create comfort and relaxation with the aim of increasing the desire to feel part of a large family where, in this case, the house is just the locker room.
A few months ago the news of Louisiana State University made headlines that for the renewal of the changing rooms of its football team spent 28 million dollars: inside extendable armchairs where you can sleep - called precisely ''nap room'' - also equipped iPads and USB chargers, a top-level training facility, a cinema, a swimming pool and a restaurant.
The LSU locker room is the most cutting-edge locker room in the world but it must always be remembered that a football team consists of about 50 (large) players and that the necessary spaces must be adequate, which is why it is certainly easier to find locker rooms huge and technological in this sport rather than in football where the squad is instead made up of ''only'' 25 players.
For many - if not all - having a slightly more comfortable chair or a shiny cabinet rather than an old one, it may not make a difference. But he did it instead for LeBron James who in summer 2009, just as he was discussing the renewal of his contract with the Cavaliers, asked the company to renew the locker room and some details of the building in order to increase the chances that another superstar got married in Cleveland. The franchise - of course - fulfilled LBJ's requests, but the only notable player who caught up with him was an old Shaquille O'Neal who didn't affect the Ohio team's performance that much.
