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Michael Jordan causes a stir attending national championship game

Kyle Ringo

Boatloads of former players and notable alumni attended the national championship game Monday night in Houston between Villanova and North Carolina, but no one received a bigger welcome than Michael Jordan.

The former Tar Heel and two-time, first-team All-American bathed in cheers from the crowd at NRG Stadium each time he was shown on the video boards. The television audience on TBS saw less of him but Twitter made up the difference with new variations on the Crying Jordan meme.

[Villanova could be first champ in 29 years without a first-round pick]

A buzz began to grow about Jordan being in the building even before he found his seat, showing he still has a commanding presence 13 years after playing his final NBA game. That probably shouldn't be a surprise since Jordan remains at the top of Forbes' highest paid retired athletes list, making a cool $110 million last year.

Jordan sat nine rows behind the North Carolina bench wearing a long-sleeve Carolina blue shirt made by Nike’s Jordan brand of course. It’s been 34 years since Jordan buried the game-winning shot for the Tar Heels in the 1982 championship game over Georgetown. He went on to win six NBA titles.

Jordan did an in-game interview with Craig Sager on TBS early in the second half with Jordan starting by complimenting Sager on his shoes. TBS had some audio difficulties during the interview.

"This is how it started," Jordan said. "This is about roots. This is where I began. For me, it's about supporting the University of North Carolina. It gives me great pleasure.

"...It's like a family. Any time we can come back and support the university we do. This is my chance to come back and give back and support."

Jordan finished the interview with a classy gesture by asking Sager, who is battling cancer, how he was feeling. "It's always good to see you man," he said.

Anyone else think it’s weird the ultimate winner is now commonly associated with losing because of a meme? That’s the power of the Internet, we guess.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!