Fan took Michael Jordan cutout everywhere as a kid

Most children go through phases where they become overly attached to something, like a toy or a comfort blanket. For Irene Liao, though, it was a giant cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan.

Liao, now a 20-year-old college student, carried the cutout around for a month straight as an 8-year-old, bringing it with her everywhere she went, she told Madison Malone Kircher of Select All. Her obsession started after she saw Jordan star in a Gatorade commercial when she was attending an international school in Taiwan.

"One day after class, I walked into a Nike store with some of my friends and I saw the cardboard cut out of him," Liao said via Twitter DM. "I asked how much he was and ended up paying 200 NT$ (about $6 U.S.) and dragged him out."

Liao even brought the cutout to school.

"I think I wrote a song for him," she said. "Whenever my teachers asked me to choose a partner in class, I would be like MJ is my partner. SMH."

Liao's teachers became concerned, and she was eventually forced to cut ties with Jordan.

"My teachers sent home a note to my parents and were like this is such an unhealthy phase."

Her parents promised to buy her a Jordan poster if she gave up the cutout, but Liao said that when she went back to the store, they had no posters and she moved on with her life. Fortunately, she has plenty of photos to look back on of her time with the Jordan cutout.