Favila: Where were you on Nov. 7, 1991?

To me, Nov. 7, 1991 is one of those "where were you when" days.

You know, like "where were you when the 9/11 attacks took place?" or "where were you when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded?"

I remember it was a Thursday afternoon and I was a junior at the University of North Texas. My roommate and I were talking to some friends in our dorm room when suddenly someone shouted for us to put the television on CNN.

My roommate jumped up, switched on the TV and suddenly, there on our tiny 13-inch screen, was Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

"Good, late afternoon," Johnson said in front of a bank of microphones. "Because of the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today."

Time just stood still.

More than a dozen guys had poured into our dorm room by now and several more were outside in the hallway clamoring for a glimpse at the TV.

I didn’t hear a sound. All I could do was stare at the screen and think how the man who I had idolized since I was 10 years old was going to die soon.

Monday marks the 20th anniversary of Johnson’s announcement and, despite all the odds, Magic is still alive and doing well.

In fact, despite his retirement in 1991, Johnson went on to play in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and even was a member of the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team," which captured gold at the Barcelona Summer Games.

Johnson even made a comeback in 1995 and permanently retired after the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 1996 playoffs.

In 2002, Johnson was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame and today, at the age of 52, Johnson continues to be involved with the game as a studio analyst.

He is also a successful businessman and motivational speaker as well as the head of the Magic Johnson Foundation, which helps raise HIV/AIDS awareness.

Ironically, Magic was the best thing that could have happened for AIDS research and treatment plans. Thanks to him, contracting the HIV virus is no longer an automatic death sentence. Johnson is living proof of that.

But on Nov. 7, 1991, no one could have predicted the future. At that time, despite Magic’s positive outlook and determination to fight the HIV virus, many were convinced that he was a dead man walking.

I’m glad that we were all so wrong.

Dave Favila can be reached at davidf@valleystar.com or at 956-430-6214