The year was 2004. A then-8-year-old Irene Liao walked into a Nike store in Taiwan and saw a life-size cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan. She knew she had to have it.

"I ended up buying him for around 200nt, which is six U.S. dollars, and dragging him out of the store with me," Liao told ESPN.

Liao shared these memories on Twitter this week, remembering the good times her and her former best friend shared together.

in the third grade i was obsessed with michael jordan so i carried a cardboard cutout of him around for a month pic.twitter.com/YaZ53Whbel — irene liao (@ireneliiao) September 19, 2016

For about a month, Liao says, the two were inseparable. Liao took the GOAT everywhere -- to the grocery store, to the metro, even to her piano lessons.

Courtesy of Irene Liao

"Eventually, though, my teacher sent me home with a note and said that this was such an unhealthy phase," Liao said. "I think the teacher was just annoyed, though, because when asked to partner up in the class, I said, 'MJ is my partner.'"

Thankfully, it sounds as if her teacher was the only adult who had a real issue with Liao's new friend.

"My parents thought it was hilarious and let me do my thing," Liao said.

Liao says Jordan eventually ended up getting thrown out, but at least she'll always have these photos.