Michael Jordan’s famous “flu game” sickness may not have been the flu after all.
In the ninth episode of “The Last Dance,” the documentary series chronicling Jordan’s final year with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan said he didn’t actually have the flu in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, when he scored 38 points against the Utah Jazz despite being visibly ill. He had food poisoning.
Jordan claimed the night before the game, which was played in Utah, he became hungry and ordered a pizza. Five delivery men showed up to bring Jordan the pizza in his hotel room, which caused some around him to become suspicious.
But, Jordan said, he ate the whole thing, and by 3 a.m. he was vomiting. The strong implication was that Jazz fans tried to take Jordan out of the NBA Finals by tampering with his pizza to make him sick, though it isn’t corroborated; no pizza delivery men were interviewed for the documentary.
The claims confirm what Jordan’s longtime personal trainer Tim Grover has said publicly for years, most recently on a Barstool Sports podcast.
“One hundred percent it was food poisoning, 100 percent,” Grover said on the podcast. “But obviously it just sounds better to be the ’Flu Game’ than the ’Food Poisoning Game.’”
Basketball fans and reporters on Twitter seemed to agree:
“Food poisoning game” just doesn’t have the same ring to it…
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) May 18, 2020
“Flu game” stays.
We talking bout the #FluGame oh I mean #FoodPoisoningGame https://t.co/4M1ttEbPh6
— Donald Wilson II (@sir_don_ii) May 18, 2020
well, food poisoning game just doesn’t have the same ring to it
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) May 18, 2020
Others still doubted the veracity of the accusation:
im just so confused did someone pick up the phone and say hello i would like one pizza for nba superstar michael jordan
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) May 18, 2020
“Hello, Slice of Utah, how can I help you?”
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) May 18, 2020
“Yes hello, this is Tim the personal trainer for Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan.”
“Uhhh …”
“I would like one large cheese pizza delivered to Michael Jordan’s hotel room at the Salt Lake City Marriott.”
“Ok.” #TheLastDance
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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